Reigning African Champion and leader Karan Patel will headline the second round of the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) to be held in Zambia’s Copperbelt region of Ndola.
Karan will be going for a hat-trick of wins in Zambia, where he has swept the ground with all his race rivals in the 2022 and 2023 editions.
Zambia International rally is slated for July 26-28 in Ndola, incidentally the home turf of Zambian superstar and 2022 African Rally champion Leroy Gomes.
Karan will renew his rivalry with Ugandan star Jas Mangat and Ndola-based Zambian star Gomes, who won the continental title in 2022.
Karan won the season-opening ARC Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally in Jinja in May, where he beat Mangat and Hamza Anwar to the second and third positions respectively.
He will be looking to consolidate his lead in Zambia in a Skoda Fabia R5 marque. Karan is excited by the introduction of power stages in the African Championship this year in which drivers are earning bonus points.
Power Stages are synonymous with the FIA World Rally Championship’s closing stages, where the top five earn additional points for the championship. Power Stages have also been run in the Kenya National Rally Championships (KNRC) series over the past few years.
“It was important for us to win the power stage in Uganda and collect some points. Thankfully, there is a power stage this season," Karan said.
On his part, Hamza hopes to come to grips with the Ford Fiesta R5 having only competed for the first time in Uganda.
“Inshallah, we are ready for Zambia and that’s the plan. It’s been a steep learning curve, jumping out of the mentality of the Evolution X that I have been pushing for so long. I’m very thankful to my dad for allowing me to drive an R5. Also a big thank you to GoPro, Safaricom, Africa Eco Services and Kenya Airways for all the support.”
After winning the ARC Junior title, Hamza ran a full-time campaign for the Junior WRC Series last year. He is back in the continental series to push for top positions.
“I’m very happy about my progress and maturity in motor rallying. I’m starting to finish rallies, which is a good sign,” Hamza quipped.
This year’s ARC Zambia Rally will start with free practice, ceremonial start, qualifying and shakedown on July 26 at NMC, Ndola. Day One and Two will take place on July 27 and 28.
2024 ARC DRIVERS’ STANDINGS AFTER UGANDA
1. Karan Patel (KEN) 35pts
2. Jas Mangat (UGA) 28pts
3. Hamza Anwar (KEN 24pts
4. Michael Jr Mukula (UGA) 19pts
5. Kuku Ranjit Singh (UGA )18pts
6. Dr Mukasa Moustapha (UGA) 17pts
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