Heritage

How ‘langa langa’ race evolved from the Nakuru Park

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Ivan Guya races at Jamhuri Park on 20th July 2014. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Popularly known as “Langalanga” (Maasai for “round and round”) the first black-top motor racing track in Kenya was opened on March 26, 1951 near Gilgil, 40 kilometres east of Nakuru Town.

Originally built during World War II to train lorry drivers for the army, it was converted into a racing circuit in a design by Eric Cecil (Bwana Safari). However, racing at the circuit was short-lived following the Mau Mau insurrection and a fatal accident in 1952 at the track after which it was closed in 1953.

As soon as the Mau Mau uprising was contained, a renewed sense of confidence among the settler community ensued. A new track known as the Nakuru Park Motor Racing Circuit was opened on February 5, 1956 in the Lakeview Estate area of Nakuru town.

Owned by the Nakuru Town Council, the track measured 2.1 kilometres and was designed by Jim Heather-Hayes Snr. The track was managed by the Nakuru Track Joint Committee and racing was organised by the East African Motor Sports Club.

Races were run in various classes for motor cars and motorcycles. Practice and seeding were run on Saturdays while the actual racing occurred on Sundays. I remember there was a hill to the southeast of the track adjacent to the starting grid from where spectators could have a wonderful view of the entire track.

For more than 20 years this was the venue of some of the most exciting and spectator-friendly motor racing action in Kenya.

Some of the well-known names at the track were Vic Preston Snr., Peter Hughes, Chris Bates, Bob Gerrish, Gurbux Singh Sagoo racing a variety of machinery including the popular formula vees and even a Lotus-engined Brabham. In the motorcycle section I remember Vic Preston Junior, John Lyall, Jack Simonian, Rob Kirby and Daljit Chager racing on BSA, Triumph, Norton and Yamaha machines.

I recall some time in 1972 while I was preparing my Yamaha 200 two-stroke clubman motorcycle with my race engineer David Andrade, an American friend told us with a heavy twang that “it’s torque that wins races, not horsepower!”

In his wisdom he insisted that if we installed megaphone exhaust pipes on our motorcycle, the engine would produce more torque.

He claimed that he had used megaphones on outboard racing engines in America with much success. We proceeded to fabricate a pair of megaphone exhausts from steel sheeting and welded them up beautifully by hand.

Leaving Nairobi on Friday afternoon with the bike in the back of a green Ford Transit belonging to Car and General, we headed to Nakuru for a weekend of racing. As we did not have any time for testing prior to departure we decided to stop at Gilgil so that I could ride the remaining 40 kilometres to Nakuru and run-in the engine. To my disappointment, although the engine revved freely and the megaphone pipes produced a lot of noise, it did not deliver much power.

We arrived in Nakuru after 5pm and our first stop was the Stags Head Hotel where we linked up with other racing enthusiasts. My uncle was the local branch manager at the National Bank of Kenya which was across the road from the hotel.

Just as I was getting comfortable, he walked in and found me enjoying an alcoholic beverage that I probably should not have been drinking at the age of 16. But he was a good man and the matter remained between him and myself. We were later joined by our hosts the Jean-Louis family who lived in Nakuru town.

Later that evening, we proceeded to the Oyster Shell club disco in town for drinks and great dancing. I remember some of the popular songs at the time such as American Pie, Got to be There, Puppy Love and Mother and Child Reunion.

The next day was practice. We soon realised that the megaphone pipes were a step backwards and you could see fresh fuel being discharged due to blow-back. The Yamaha 200 was a piston-controlled engine and perhaps the megaphones worked better with a rotary valve set up.

Fortunately, we had brought a set of expansion chambers with us which we fitted for practice and immediately the bike went like a rocket.

Although my bike was the smallest in the pack, I managed to beat a few others in the race on Sunday. I clinched P3 in the handicap race just being pipped at the finish line by the Yamaha TR2s of Vic Preston Junior and John Lyall.

As the oil crises of 1973 began to bite motor racing became expensive and the number of available racing cars and circuit maintenance funds declined. At the same time, a number of Europeans relocated overseas seeking more secure homes for themselves and their assets. The circuit gradually fell into disuse for these reasons.

This development did not escape the eagle eye of land-buying companies and politicians who prevailed upon the local town council to sell the land for residential occupation. The Nakuru Park Motor Racing Park (also known as Langalanga) was closed in 1988.

In a strange twist of fate my son Saidimu married a beautiful girl, Cassandra, from the Jean-Louis family on 17 August this year. Of course, I had nothing to do with it!