Yasin Nasser/Ali Katumba, the only crew to Represent Uganda in the Upcoming WRC Safari Rally 2023

The final entry list of beloved and celebrated Safari Rally 2023 that is run on the World Rally Championship (WRC) released the final entry list for the event slated for 22-26 June, Yasin Nasser and co-driver Ali Katumba are the only Ugandan crew that will represent on behalf of the Pearl of Africa. This will be the 70^th WRC Safari rally.

The list has a total of thirty-four entries, eight entries less than last year’s forty-two. This is going to be the MOIL-sponsored team’s first WRC event in their Ford Fiesta R5a s this year is shaping up to be one for the books for the team. Nasser/Katumba are competing in three different championships: the Uganda National Rally Championship (NRC), the African National Championship (ARC), and the Tanzania National Rally Championship. The team is currently in first place on the NRC standings with 198 points, they are leading the Tanzania championship (they’ve run only one event on their calendar, which Nasser/Katumba won, they won all stages), and leading the ARC with 54 points. This is a truly phenomenal performance by the crew and will go down in history if they win all championships by year-end.

Last year Duncan Mubiru and co-driver Musa Nsubuga were the only Ugandan crew participating in the WRC Safari event, the crew performed well throughout but did not complete the rally after their car suffered an accident in the last stages.

Kenya is represented well in this year’s event with twelve drivers getting ready to battle it out with the international drivers as this event also scores points on their Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC).

The three factory teams competing are; the Toyota Gazoo racing team will be represented by four drivers with Kalle Rovanpera currently number one on the WRC standings with 98 points awaiting the upcoming Rally Italia Sardegna coming up 01-04 June. The Hyundai team has three competing drivers led by Thierry Neuville who is fifth in the standings with 68 points and the M-Sport Ford team led by Ott Tanak who is second in the standings with 81 points.

It is dubbed the toughest rally on the WRC but it is also one that embodies the beautiful African scenery and weather. Fans from across Africa will be waiting to see their favorite take on the celebrated event.

Full Entry List:

1. Kalle Rovanpera, FIN/Jonne Haltunen, FIN-Toyota GR Yaris Hybrid Rally 1
2. Takamoto Katsuta, JPN/Aaron Johnston, IRL-Toyota GR Hybrid Yaris Rally 1
3. Elfyn Evans, GBR/Scott Martin, GBR-Toyota GR Yaris Hybrid Rally 1
4. Sebastien Ogier, FRA/Vincent Landais, FRA-Toyota GR Yaris Hybrid Rally 1
5. Thierry Neuville, BEL/Martijn Wydaeghe, BEL-Hyundai i20 N Hybrid Rally 1
6. Esapekka Lappi, FIN/Janne Ferm, FIN-Hyundai i20 N Hybrid Rally 1
7. Daniel Sordo, ESP/Candido Carrrera, ESP-Hyundai i20 N Hybrid Rally 1
8. Ott Tanak, EST/Martin Jarveoja, EST-Ford Puma Hybrid Rally 1
9. Pierre Louis Loubet, FRA/Nicholas Gilsoul, FRA-Ford Puma Hybrid Rally 1
10. Jourdan Serderidis, GRC/Andy Malfoy, FRA-Ford Puma Hybrid Rally 1
11. Kajetan Kajetanowicz, POL/Maciej Szczepaniak, POL-Skoda Fabia Evo Rally 2
12. Martin Propkop, CZE/Zdenek Jurka, CZE-Ford Fiesta MKII Rally 2
13. Daniel Chwist, POL/Kamil Hellier, POL-Ford Fiesta MKII Rally2
14. Georgios Vasilakis, GRC/Thomas Krawzik, GBR-Ford Fiesta Rally2
15. Gregoire Munster, LUX/Louis Louka, BEL-Ford Fiesta Rally2
16. Miguel Diaz, PH/Rodrigo Sanjuan, ESP-Skoda Fabia Evo Rally2
17. Oliver Solberg, SWE/Elliot Andrew Edmondson, GBR-Skoda Fabia Evo Rally2
18. Karan Patel, KEN/Tauseef Khan, KEN-Ford Fiesta Rally2
19. Armin Kremer, GER/Timo Gottschalk, GER-Fabia Evo Rally2
20. Samman Vohra, KEN/Gugu Panesar, KEN-Skoda Fabia Evo Rally2
21. Aakif Virani, KEN/Azhar Bhatti, KEN-Skoda Fabia Rally2
22. Pierro Canobbio, KEN/Fabrizia Pons, ITA-Hyundai NG i20 Rally2
23. Yasin Nasser, UGA/Ali Katumba, UGA-Ford Fiesta Rally2
24. Diego Dominguez, PRY/Rogelio Panate, ESP-Ford Fiesta Rally3
25. Jason Bailey, CAN/James Willets, CAN-Ford Fiesta Rally3
26. Jeremiah Wahome, KEN/Victor Okundi, KEN-Ford Fiesta Rally3
27. Hamza Anwar, KEN/Adnan Din, KEN-Ford Fiesta Rally3
28. McRae Kimathi, KEN/Mwangi Kioni, KEN-Ford Fiesta Rally3
29. Giancarlo Davite, ITA/Sylvia Vindevogel, BEL-Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X NR4
30. Nikhil Sachania, KEN/Deep Patel, KEN-Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X NR4
31. Evans Nzioka, KEN/Absalom Aswani, KEN-Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X NR4
32. Minesh Rathod, KEN/Jamie Mavtavish, KEN-Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X NR4
33. Carl Tundo, KEN/Timothy Jessop, KEN (N/A)
34. Josiah Kariuki, KEN/John Ngugi, KEN (N/A)