The stage is officially set for the Shell V-Power Pearl of Africa Uganda rally after the opening of entries and publication of the itinerary on Thursday this week.
The Pearl rally, which is the second round of the Africa Rally Championship, is scheduled for 9-11 May, and it will be making its first visit to the western region. The district of choice is Mbarara.
“Mbarara rally is known for fast and good roads. We all love that and we are happy they chose to take the Pearl rally there,” said Anthony Mugambwa, Sebuguzi’s co-driver.
The event will run for three days, starting on Thursday with the qualifying stage in the morning, followed by Shakedown on the same day.
Rally will start proper on Friday with three stages, including a Super Special stage at the Rukaari Resort.
Eight stages will be covered on the Saturday with a competitive distance of 140.52km to make a total competitive distance of 188.10km.
While it is bound to be an exciting event, there’s calls for major safety adherence. The area is a well-known cattle corridor.
“The only challenges with the Mbarara rally are the animals on the farms. You never know when you will find a goat or a cow on the stage. We hope the organiser put that in check,” added Mugambwa.
Africa Rally Championship contenders will headline the event. Several from Kenya, including reigning ARC champion Karan Patel, Samman Vohra, Jasmeet Chana, Hamza Anwar are all expected to be in Mbarara.
Yasin Nasser and Jas Mangat are expected to join the pack in the fight for ARC points.
Ugandan crews will also continue the search for NRC points in the same event.