Kenya’s Karan Patel and Taussef Khan are on a pursuit to claim Pearl rally honors following a dominant race in the opening day in Jinja, Uganda.
Pearl rally kicked off with a little disruption in the itinerary which led to the cancellation of the morning stage due to safety concerns.
However, order was reinstated having crews initiate their intent for the coveted event.
It was Uganda’s Jas Mangat claiming the first stage win with 8.2seconds ahead of Karan Patel.
Patel reacted to Mangat’s performance with a rather dominant pace claiming the remaining stages of the day to take lead after leg one.
The reigning ARC champion topped five of the six stages that were covered on Saturday.
Karan will start the final leg with a 32.6seconds ahead of close rival Mangat.
In third position is Kenyan’s Hamza Anwar who is 4mins,11.5seconds off the leader. The crew suffered mechanical problems in a day losing a chance to fight for the top spot.
Ronald Sebuguzi who is fighting for national points was fourth overall with Micheal Mukula completing the top five overall.
The rally continues on Sunday with only three stages to fight for.