Jas Mangat says he has all the reasons to believe he has a realistic shot at the 2023 Africa Rally Championship.
The Ugandan champion secured an impressive second position in a Hyundai i20 rally2 in the Mountain Gorilla Rally in Rwanda last weekend. He was 16 seconds behind overall winner Karan Patel of Kenya.
The podium finish helped the Ugandan secure vital points in the title chase with six points separating him from ARC leader Yassin Nasser.
“Our focus was really not on the title. But now we have a chance. Rwanda was quite positive and it gave us an idea,” says Mangat.
“We didn’t know what to expect before Rwanda. But after the event, we know we can go for it. We need to win the next event for us to have a better chance,” he added.
In 2013, Jas Mangat was in a similar position in the fight for the ARC title; only to lose it in the ultimate event in Madagascar.
Mangat believes his performance in Rwanda is a sign that he is within the pace for a proper fight.
“Rwanda showed us that we can match the pace. We are still a little bit behind and there is a lot of work to do before we get fully in.
“The car is getting more and more comfortable. It is still new but we are bonding well,” he added.
In Rwanda, Mangat introduced a new co-driver Jules Escatefigue from France; who replaced his long-time racing partner Joseph Kamya.
“The car is a completely different machine and Jules has a lot of experience with the R5 cars,” he explained.
“We had to change the notes in the new car. So if I had stayed with the same navigator with both of us having no experience of the car, it would have taken us longer to catch up,” he added.
The next ARC event heads to Zambia on 20-22 October.