It may have been an easy day at work for the overall Pearl Rally winner Marvin Baryan but there was plenty of work to do in the battle for the NRC category win.
Yasin Nasser and Arthur Blick were embroiled in the stiff contest as they shared stage wins between each other.
The nip and tuck affair was, however, decided in the ultimate stage.
Arthur Blick Jr. was confident of taking the day as he led by 18 seconds into the ADEL2 pass, however, a puncture all but ended his hopes.
Despite posting 19 min 20seconds in the stage, Yasin would cross 20 seconds quicker. And with that won the NRC category by a slim margin.
It would be a double podium for Yasin claiming Pearl Rally win among nationals as well as a second podium finish on ARC behind event winner Manvir Baryan.
“It was quite a tough and testing event. When had to calculate our move each time when got back to the service.
“We are lucky we didn’t face big issues as the car behaved well and our focus was to stay on the road to the finish.
“The last two stages were indeed tricky for both us and Arthur. But having looked back at all the crews that dropped out, we just decided to maintain our pace and finish the event regardless of the position not knowing victory is awaiting,” said Nasser.
With the Pearl Rally win, Nasser and Katumba secured maximum points to take the lead in the NRC; for the first time in his rally career.
After four events, Yasin is at 285 points; 45 points more than second-placed Ronald Sebuguzi.
“We are extremely happy to know that we are leading the championship. It is another milestone for us.
“However, this is not a place we really thought we would be by now. It was never in our season expectations but let’s enjoy it.
“Much appreciation for my sponsors, service crews and the fans who have always boosted us in every event,” he added.
Meanwhile, Arthur Blick didn’t lose it all as he secured the second podium position along with enough points that placed him fourth on the NRC standings awakening his chances for the NRC title chase.
Christakis Fitidis came in third position which moved him to third place on NRC with 223points.
Fred Busulwa and Dr Ashiraf Ahmed impressively completed the top-five finish in fourth and fifth respectively.
Top five NRC drivers standings
- Yasin Nasser 285
- Ronald Sebuguzi 240
- Christakis Fitidis 223
- Arthur Blick 185
- Hassan Alwi 180