by Reigning Africa rally champion Karan Patel won the Pearl of Africa Uganda; the African Rally Championship season-opening round. The Kenyan edged his close rival, Uganda’s Jas Mangat, with his dominant pace until the final leg on Sunday.
Patel and co-driver Taussef Khan in the Skoda Fabia picked up from an error in the first stage on Saturday to build up a strong charge through the rally. The Kenyan crew claimed eight stage wins out of the nine stages covered.
“It was a good race. Luckily, it was not wet. So it was in our favour, but this time we were ready for rain if it was there,” said Karan.
“We started the rally with a small mistake. We overshot a corner and reversed, losing a bit of time. But after that, we were determined not to make any mistake and the stage times speak for themselves,” he added.
Karan spiced up the victory with a power stage win, claiming maximum points to kickstart his chase for the second ARC title.
“It is my dream to be the champion for Africa yet again,” he said.
“We managed to win the power stage and that was a plus. I am grateful for my team, especially my dad, who is in charge of most of the things for the team. They all made it happen,” said Karan.
Uganda’s Jas Mangat in a Hyundai i20 managed to secure second place, completing the rally 1minute and 42.7 seconds behind Karan.
Kenya’s Hamza Anwar completed the ARC podium in third place.
Micheal Mukula settled for fourth, while Kuku Ranjit and Moustapha Mukasa finished in fifth and sixth positions, respectively.
Among the national category, Ronald Sebuguzi claimed the second position behind Jas Mangat and fourth overall for the rally.
The next ARC event heads south to Zambia on 26-28th July.
