Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally Kicks Off in Jinja, Karan Patel Leads Day One

The prestigious Pearl of Africa Uganda rally officially kicked off on Friday, May 10 with a free practice and a shakedown run for Africa Rally Championship (ARC) crews. With competition starting on Saturday, Kenya’s Karan Patel and co-driver Tauseef Khan came out in first place by the end of the day in their Skoda Fabia with a time of 01:04:25.1. For their shakedown run, the crew had finished in a close second behind Jas Mangat but as the competition took effect, they edged them out to lead day one. Patel is one of the three drivers being sponsored by KCB Bank for this event; the bank extended a sponsorship package of UGX 80 million towards the event. Oscar Ntambi and Michael Jr. Mukula are also being sponsored by the bank.

Karan Patel/Tauseef Khan being flagged off at the opening ceremony that was at the Source of the Nile. Photo Credit: Innocent Mutaawe.

Jas Mangat and co-driver Laurent Magat finished in second place approximately thirty-five seconds behind Patel/Khan in their Hyundai i20; they did a time of 01:04:59.6. There was a time difference of 00:34.5 between them and Patel. Mangat had the best time during the shakedown and throughout day one they were going head-to-head with Patel/Khan. Mangat is leading the NRC.

Jas Mangat navigated by Laurent Magat in their Hyundai i20 in stage at the POAUR in Jinja/Buikwe. Photo Credit: Innocent Mutaawe.

Finishing in third place overall and on the ARC was Kenya’s Hamza Anwar and co-driver Adnan Din in their Ford Fiesta with a time of 01:08:36.5. The youngster kept a good pace throughout the day and had fans cheering him on in the sections.

Hamza Anwar navigated by Adnan Din in their Ford Fiesta in stage. Photo Credit: Innocent Mutaawe.

On the NRC, Ronald Ssebuguzi and co-driver Anthony Mugambwa placed second in their Ford Fiesta Proto with a time of 01:14:05.5 and Michael Jr. Mukula with co-driver Edward Kiyinji closed out the top three in their Subaru Impreza GRB.

The Clubman Rally Championship (CRC) was led by Musa Ssegaabwe and navigated by Mathias Kiyegga in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9; they did a time of 21:03.0. Kataza Haruna and co-driver Urban Mulindwa came in second in their Subaru Impreza with a time of 25:13.9; Hajj Ahmed Ssenyonjo and co-driver Sharif Muyanja finished in third place in their Toyota Corolla FX with a time of 26:00.0 and Niwagaba Odeon Tumwebaze and co-driver Asuman Muhammad closed out the category in fourth in their Toyota Altezza with a time of 47:28.5.

With sponsorships from Vivo Energy Uganda, the marketer and distributor of Shell-branded fuels, the company reaffirmed its commitment to the development of Ugandan motorsport by extending a sponsorship package of 300million. Vivo Energy is also the sponsor of Ronald Ssebuguzi.

The first leg that kicked off early Saturday morning with eight super stages totalled a competitive distance of 148.01km though the very first stage of the day was cancelled. Day two will cover 61.44km and run three super stages on Sunday.

ARC Results: