Yasin Nasser and Ali Katumba are the 2025 African Rally Champions.
The Ugandan crew sealed the title in the most unbelievable circumstances as the curtains came down on the African championship in Morogoro, Tanzania on Sunday.
Yasin and Katumba headed into the event with an 8-point lead over title rival Samman Vohra of Kenya.
The Ugandan team, driving a Ford Fiesta R2, took a cautious approach while Vohra showed intent from the start. The Kenyan would end Saturday’s leg in the lead and likely to cause a final day upset. Yasin would end the same leg in fourth place.
Sunday’s final leg offered much for both title chasing crews. A win for Vohra would hand him his first title on his first full ARC season.
For Yasin, an upset of any kind on his rival would be helpful in keeping his position atop the standings.
A surprise surge by double African Champion Karen Patel proved the difference. The Kenyan snatched the lead from Vohra and also claimed the power stage to cause a shift in the points distribution.
Despite his performance, Vohra settled for second place overall with Tanzania’s Ahmed Huwel in third.
The win for Patel meant he reduced Vohra’s points collection more to Yasin’s advantage.
The Ugandan who finished fourth collected two more points from the event’s ultimate stage; just enough to see him secure the title by a single point difference.
Yasin ended the series with 135 points while Vohra collected 134 points.
“We have been keeping calm coming into this event. I would be lying if I say we didn’t feel the pressure at one point,” said Yasin.
“But we decided to stick to our plan. The power stage points were so crucial in this. We did what we had to do and God willed it for us,” he added.
Yasin and Katumba’s title comes 26 years since Ugandans Charles Muhangi (RIP) and Stephen Byaruhanga won the African in 1999.
Jas Mangat came so close in 2013 only to lose it to Zambia’s Jassy Singh in the last stages of the event.