Africa Rally title fight hits fever pitch in Rwanda

It is going to be extreme excitement as Africa Rally Championship title contenders aim to take the extra edge in this year’s title fight in the Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally slated for this weekend.

Yasin Nasser, Karan Patel and Jas Mangat will yet again take centre stage for the ARC fight. 

Uganda’s Yasin Nasser currently holds a narrow lead over countrymate Jas Mangat in the championship. Nasser has 78 points with Mangat on 63 points. Kenya’s Patel is third with 60 points.

A victory is desired from each one of them as it will give an upper hand ahead of the ultimate event. 

Another hotly contested affair will be in the ARC2 category for Group N cars. 

Uganda’s Innocent Bwamiki will assume the lead after Mangat’s upgrade. Bwamiki will however have to complete the race in Rwanda.

However, in Rwanda, Bwamiki will have to close out Kenya’s Hamza Anwar, Rio Smith and Tanzania’s Prince Charles Nyerere who qualify for the category.

A threefold battle will also ensue in the ARC junior category between Rio Smith, Hamza Anwar and Prince Charles Nyerere. 

With Nyerere and Smith both having 30 points, Rwanda will break the tie and only a victory will give one an edge over the other.

The Mountain Gorilla Rally revs off with a shakedown followed by a qualifying run on Friday in the centre of Kigali. 

Eight stages will be covered on Saturday and Sunday totalling a competitive distance of 195.36 kilometres.