The 2024 edition of the Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally is officially on after Friday’s launch at Kabira Country Club, Kampala.
This year’s Pearl Rally sets the ball rolling for the Africa Rally Championship as it for the first time, gets off as the African Series season opener.
Dubbed the Shell V-Power Rally, it is scheduled for May 10–12 in parts of Jinja, Eastern Uganda.
Over 30 crew members have confirmed their participation in the prestigious event. Only two foreign crews from Kenya; Karan Patel and Hamza Anwar, will participate.
The newly elected FMU president, Jimmy Akena, immediately takes on the role of event manager. He anticipates an exciting event.
“I’m glad to have tirelessly worked with Dipu and the team to see the event take place. What I can assure the stakeholders is that we will have a wonderful event,” he said.
“The safety of crews and fans remains our major priority. Our target scope for this rally, being an African Championship calendar opener, is to have a smooth and successfully run event,” he added.
The event will kick off with a qualifying stage for the ARC crews. The rally then starts properly on Saturday, with seven stages and three stages on Sunday. The event will run over a total competitive distance of 209.45 kilometres.
During the launch, Diana Komukama Ssempebwa, Head of Marketing at KCB Bank, made an assurance of the bank’s support for this year’s pearl rally.
“We are very excited once again to be part of the POAUR. We have had a long and strong commitment with FMU regarding this. It is in our hearts,” she said.
The bank has injected Shs 80 million into the event.
Fuel and lubricant giants Vivo Energy are the event title sponsors under their brand name Shell V-Power.
