Karan Patel kicked off his title defence in the FIA Africa Rally Championship (ARC) with a resounding victory at the ARC Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally which ended at the Source of Nile River Hotel in Jinja.
Navigated by Tauseef Khan in a Skoda Fabia R5, Karan displayed remarkable prowess behind the wheel, conquering eight out of nine stages in an event which also counted towards the third round of Ugandan’s National Rally Championship (NRC).
Karan’s consistency and skill were evident from the third stage on Saturday as he secured a well-deserved maiden Uganda win including the closing V-Power Stage, the third run of the sleek 22.33km Sura Mbaya test.
Following the cancellation of Saturday’s SS1 Macarena 1 test, the battle for supremacy was intense, with Uganda’s own Jas Mangat putting up a formidable challenge with the fastest time through the 8.83km SS2 Tadooba 1.
However, Patel’s determination and precision on the sugar cane sections ultimately prevailed, edging out Mangat to clinch the top spot winning every single stage through to the last flying finish at Sura Mbaya.
Adding to the celebration was the third-place finish by Karan’s compatriot, Hamza Anwar, highlighting the dominance of the Kenyan contingent in the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of Uganda (FMU)- organised contested incidentally on his very first outing at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta R5.
The iconic Uganda fixture marked Hamza’s maiden R5 outing in a contraption he lent Carl Tundo for this year’s WRC Safari.
As Team Karan basked in the glory of their triumph, they set a high bar for the upcoming legs of the continental championship, signalling their intent to maintain their stronghold on the African Rally circuit.
“Last year, we didn’t do the Pearl Rally, but we still won the championship. It was a good race in Jinja.
"I dedicate the win to my mum, it’s Mothers' Day. We expected Mangat to be quick because he was doing some training with Grégoire Munster. We would have won all the stages, but we made a small mistake in one of the stages, a corner came too first, so we had to overshoot and lost eight seconds.”
PROVISIONAL RESULTS
1. #101 Karan Patel/ Tauseef Khan (Skoda Fabia-Ken) 01:45:11.6
2. # Jas Mangat/Laurent Magat (Hyundai i20-UG) 01:46:54.4
3. #102 Hamza Anwar / Adnan Din (Ford Fiesta-Ken). 01:51:39.0
4. Ronald Ssebuguzi/ Anthony Mugambwa (Ford Fiesta Proto-Ug) 02:00:41.0
5. # Ponsiano Lwakataka/ Samuel Mugisha (Subaru Impreza N12 B-Ug). 02:03:23.3
6.#35 Jon Consta KARUMUNA/ Aaron NSAMBA (Ford Fiesta-Ug). 02:05:08.4
7. #12 Hassan Alwi/ Musa Nsubuga (Subaru Impreza-UG). 02:05:26.3
8. #80 Michael Jr Mukula/ Edward KIYINGI (Subaru Impreza GRB-UG) 02:06:34.5
9. #76 Abas Sebunya/ Shameer Yusuf Pyarali (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X). 02:10:26.2
10. #100 Jonas Matayo Kasiime/ Bukenya Ronald (Mitsu Evo 8-UG) 02:10:33.1
11. #10 Busulwa Fred Kitaka/ Joseph Bongole (Subaru Impreza N10. 02:13:39.3
12. #91 Kuku Ranjit Singh/ Sirajih Tweranire Kyambadde (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Ix-UG) 02:13:44.8
