Jas Mangat and Yasin Nasser are on the edge of taking the lead in the Africa Rally Championship series following the withdrawal of Kenya’s Karan Patel from the weekend’s Pearl of Africa rally.
Patel withdrew from the event citing unfavorable conditions of the routes. He currently leads the ARC leaderboard six points ahead of Nasser and nine points more than Mangat. The odds have now switched to his ARC rivals.
It will be either Mangat or Nasser to assume top position only if they can get through the weekend.
While Nasser will be in the Ford Fiesta Rally5, Mangat comes with his usual Mitsubishi EvoX for the hunt.
The weather conditions are anticipated to play a role in the battle for the points. It wil be important for the crews to muster the conditions and claim victory.
Motorsport pundit Robert Nkolo, commonly known as Robstyles shared his thoughts about the battle.
“When it comes to Jinja rallies, Mangat has had his chances here. And he is already proved on what he can do in wet stages having won several events under such conditions. So the stakes are high on him.”
“For Yasin, the fact that he is having the first experience in the Ford on wet, he might be a bit cautious. His car is superior than Jas’ but he has to do more to that,” says Robert Nkolo.
The crew of Mike Mukula and Rio Smith might also influence the fight at the top since the two drivers are eligible for the ARC points this weekend.
The ARC battle will start with the qualifying stage on Friday at Wairaka to determine who will go first on Saturday’s leg one.
Seven stages will be covered on Saturday with five stages including a super special stage scheduled for Sunday.
The rally covers a total competitive distance of 205.27 kilometers.