The second round of the National Rally Championship proved a challenge especially on day two. An early morning down pour changed plans and strategies for teams. Many however struggled to keep on the muddy and slippery routes on Sunday in Jinja.
Jas Mangat and Joseph Kamya however proved they were fit for all weather conditions after comfortably clinching victory.
The Pilipili rally crew was dominant throughout the event and gained ground in this year’s title contest with a second straight victory of the season.
They were fastest through the 179.38kilometres with total time of 1hr and 37minutes.
Mangat and Kamya now stand strong on the NRC leaderboard with 200points.
Eastern driver Kepher Walubi finished second overall much to the delight of his home crowd.
It was so far his best career finish.
“I came well prepared for the best position. This is home. So I had to be among the best.
“So my performance is exactly as I expected. The weather was really bad but we had to bare with the conditions. As rally drivers we are supposed to be ready for any weather conditions,” said Walubi.
Walubi who had Anthony Mugambwa calling the notes now moves to third position in the NRC standings with 105 points.
Another notable performance came from Unissan Bakunda.
Bakunda and co-driver Umar Kakande have shown great improvement since last year. They finish an impressive third overall.
Bakunda and Kakande stand second overall on the NRC leaderboard with 110 points.
Hassan Alwi managed to get the monkey off his back with a fourth position finish despite suffering a series of mechanical problems.
Rallying doctor Ashraf Ahmed sealed the top five positions.
Susan Muwonge settled for sixth followed by 2017 NRC champion Christakis Fitidis in seventh overall.
Of the 40 crews that started the event on Saturday, only 24 crews endured the wet conditions to the finish.
Among the causalities include, Ronald Sebuguzi whose contention ended after an off in stage two. It was the second DNF (Did Not Finish) this season.
Omar Mayanja as well registered a second DNF after his car suffered mechanical problems on day one.
A broken joint ended Yasin Nasser’s rally. Andy Musoke, Arthur Blick Jr, Peter Kalule and among others were the causalities of the day.
The next round of NRC is scheduled for April 27-29 in Masaka.