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Three drivers including Uganda’s national champion elect Yasin Nasser, Magat and patel fought for supremacy on the first full day of competition in Rwanda’s capital Kigali.
Kenyan Karan Patel dominated proceedings at the Mountain Gorilla Rally2023 to win for a second year in a row ahead of Uganda’s Jas Mangat and compatriot Hamza Anwar.
Patel led the rally from Saturday to make it back-to-back victories in the Africa Rally Championship [ARC], a victory which blows the race for the championship wide open.
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Three drivers including Uganda’s national champion elect Yasin Nasser, Magat and patel fought for supremacy on the first full day of competition in Rwanda’s capital Kigali.
The trio were blanketed by just 114 seconds after the morning pass of Saturday’s morning gravel tracks, before disaster struck for the championship leader Nasser.
The MOIL Rally team crew saw their early hopes go up in flames, but were able to save the car from burning out after it caught fire on the fourth section.
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Nasser’s Ford Fiesta R5 veered off the role into a pile of hay, and as he attempted to recover it, the grass underneath the car caught fire.
The fire did not grow too large and was contained by him and co-driver Ali Katumba.
Both crew members were able to escape to safety, before stopping the fire from spreading through the car, and were helped by officials and other crews running behind.
Patel ended the opening day on top, 54 seconds ahead of Mangat who was competing in his first rally behind his newly acquired Hyundai i20 R5.
The Kenyan who also won the rally last year, has won seven of the eight stages on Saturday, with only Mangat stopping his clean sweep of the day’s stages.
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There was a scare for Patel in the Sunday’s opening section, as he dropped 43 seconds to Mangat. The two would extend section wins over the next three stages as the rally climaxed.
Eventually, it was Patel who prevailed, 16 seconds ahead of Mangat in what was the closest finish of the season thus far.
Hamza Anwar took the third podium position with Prince Nyerere -grandson to former Tanzania president Julius Nyerere finishing fourth.
Innocent Bwamiki finished fifth – third in the ARC 2 category – to consolidate his lead of the championship.
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Nasser restarted on Saturday, eventually settling sixth in the ARC, but stayed top of the championship standings on 93 points, three points ahead of Patel who moves to 90 points.
Mangat is third in the championship on 87 points, with the ARC title chase moving to Zambia before climaxing in Tanzania.
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