For the first time in ten years, the African Rally Championship (ARC) title will be decided on the last day of the calendar in Madagascar thanks to Jas Mangat’s failure to finish the 2013 Rwanda Mt. Gorilla Rally.
The reigning ARC standings leader dropped out of the three day event held in Kigali over the weekend in the second last section of the race due to a mechanical problem thus failed to earn any points to add to his 83 points.
Sadly, his close competitors Jassy Singh (Zambia) and Giancarlo Davite (Rwanda) managed to score points after finishing fourth and first respectively.
Singh’s 15 points earned from the weekend event closes the gap between him and Mangat to two points as he now stands on 81 points while Davite leapfrogs Zambia’s Essa Mohammad to go third on 58 points.
The current standings imply that whoever wins the last event in Madagascar due November between Mangat and Singh will be crowned Africa rally king of the year.
Nevertheless, one of the two may not even need to win in Madagascar in case his closest competitor drops out.
Interestingly, Rwanda’s Davite has the opportunity to go level with Mangat on points in case he claims victory in the Madagascar event and either Mangat or Singh fails to complete creating a complex situation on how to decide the champion since both will have won two races.
The last and only Ugandan to claim the FIA Africa Rally Championship in history remains Charles Muhangi in 1999.
ARC Standings after Rwanda Mt. Gorilla Rally
Jas Mangat (UGA) 83 points
Jassy Singh (ZAM) 81
Giancarlo Davite (RWA) 58
Essa Mohammad (ZAM) 50
Eric Page (CIV) 25
