The National Rally Championship (NRC) of 2022 closed its calendar with Byron Rugomoka and co-driver Hakim Mawanda scoring their first NRC championship in the MOSAC Kigezi Boona Rukungiri rally. The event took place the weekend of 10-11 December in the western part of Uganda in Rukungiri.
Byron Rugomoka and navigator Hakim Mawanda claimed their maiden victory in their Mitsubishi Evo 10 in a total time of 1:34:30.80 after leading the rally right from its start. The rally had really few entrants with seventeen drivers listed on the start list for Saturday; three of them were route-openers. At the close of day one, Rugomoka was in first place and he kept that same energy for day two. Rugomoka and Mawanda are also winners of the Division two category.
Byron says he has been a motorsport fan and lover of speed since he was a child, and even though he has spent six years as a rally driver, the love has always been there, so this maiden championship win means the world to him.
Coming in second place was Jonas Kansiime and co-driver Ivan Tushabe in their Mitsubishi Evo 8 with a time of 1:36:22.50. There was a time difference of 01:51.70 between Kansiime and Rugomoka. Kansiime also finished second on day one and held his position despite a five second penalty. Kansiime and Tushabe are also the maiden champions of the Division one category.
A persistent and powerful performance landed youngsters Mark Lubega and Daniel Mbabazi in podium third place overall finish, a good performance by the crew in their last round of the season. They did a time of 1:50:48.10 in their Subaru Impreza, this was one of the crews’ better performance this season and they closed out good.
Oscar Ntambi and co-driver Assuman Muhammad were the 2WD champions for 2022; the crew finished fourth overall in their Toyota Altezza. Giving Ntambi a run-for-his-money was Ibrahim Lubega commonly referred to as “Pasuwa” with co-driver Shakira Nabwami. Lubega finished fifth overall with a slim time difference of 30 seconds between him and Ntambi. Not walking away empty-handed, Lubega is the Premier division champion.
The Clubman Rally Championship (CRC) class saw two finishers in this event; Mohammed Bwete and co-driver Isaac Lumu took first place in their Mitsubishi Evo 7 in a time of 1:04:52.60 and, Julius Semambo with co-driver Diana Nagawa in second in their Toyota FX with a time of 1:32:22.90. Mohammed Bwete is the CRC champion of this season.
Mike Mukula Jr. and co-driver Edward Kiyinji suffered an accident in SS3 that left their Subaru Impreza ruined. The crew got out unharmed but lost the championship as they could not continue.
Umar Dauda and co-driver Hamza Lwanga did not take part in the event after their engine failed to start in the very first section. The NRC rounds are over for the year but the Sprint championship is slated for 26 December to close out all sporting events this year.
Finishers Overall/Final Results for Rukungiri rally:
- Byron Rugomoka/Hakim Mawanda-Mitsubishi Evo 10-1:34:30.80
- Jonas Kansiime/Ivan Tushabe-Mitsubishi Evo 8-1:36:22.50
- Mark Lubega/Daniel Mbabazi-Subaru Impreza-1:50:48.10
- Oscar Ntambi/Asuman Muhammad-Toyota Altezza-1:54:23.40
- Ibrahim Lubega/Shakira Nabwami-Toyota FX-1:54:54.00
- Dr. Godfrey Nsereko/Jackson Serwanga-Subaru Impreza-1:58:24.30
- Faisal Kayira/Monica Birwinyo-Subaru Impreza-2:06:17.40
- Duncan Mubiru/Joseph Bongole-Subaru Impreza-2:17:36.70
- WO1 Ismail Lule/Steven Bunya-VW Golf-2:48:42.30
- Yasin Mukasa/Duncan Katumba-Toyota FX-2:51:21.30
