The Gomes brothers will fly the Zambian flag during the fourth round of 2017 Africa Rally Championship later this month.
Leroy Gomes, who is navigated by his wife Urshlla Gomes will be joined by his elder brother Kleevan Gomes as they fight for honours in the Pearl of Africa Rally.
The brothers will be making their debut in Uganda with hopes of keeping in reach of this year’s ARC title.
Leroy and Urshlla Gomes are sitting second in the ARC standings; four points behind leader Jaspreet Chatthe who has 30 points. Kleevan lies fifth with 16 points.
“The championship is still open, and I am not far from Chatthe. Rally is very unpredictable so anything can happen.
“Our pace is improving in each event even though we switch between right and left hand drive cars. So we hope for the best show in Uganda,” says Leroy.
Leroy and Urshlla will cruise a Mitsubishi Evo X. The Pearl of Africa Rally will be their fourth ARC event this year.
Kleevan is on the other hand looking forward to gaining more experience.
“The whole ARC experience has been awesome, experiencing different terrains and different scenery, different ways rallies are organised and many more.
“It is an eye opener for me in a away because it made me realize how much more I have to learn. And am sure it will be a whole new experience in Uganda,” he says.
Kleevan will be navigated by Latife Riyaz a brother to Urshlla Gomes. They cruise in a Mitsubishi Evo IX.
The Gomes brothers have been briefed so well by their Zambian counterparts, the Muna brothers on what to expect in Uganda.
“I think we will have a great experience. The Munas have told us about the rally fans in Uganda filling all stages. But we will just have to give them a good show and will just trust our notes,” says Leroy.
However, Kleevan is coming with a cautious approach.
“I was told Uganda has the biggest in terms of crowds and spectators. However I was told that traffic during transport between stages gets pretty bad and we have to be more cautious,” he said.