Walter Kibande’s decision to switch from street racing to proper rally competition has paid off with a title in the Clubman Rally Championship.
Kibande quit street racing to join rallying last year. He started with autocross before elevating to the clubman rally championship, a category for new entrant drivers.
Over the weekend, Kibande and co-driver Duncan Katumba in a Subaru GC8 only needed one point to seal the title.
Before the event, everything seemed a walkover for the crew until they suffered three punctures by the second stage on Saturday.
The situation got worse when the hub went off in the Super Special Stage, retiring the crew on day one, something that sent shivers down the driver. They needed to stay in the event until the last finish.
On day two, the crew took a cautious strategy, finishing third in the CRC category, and with it, becoming champions.
“This event is the highlight of my career so far. It has been challenging for us to finish. At one point, we were mentally drained, worried that we could lose it,” said Kibande.
“The troubles we had on day one scared us, but we remained hopeful. We only needed to push that car to the end. We are happy to have secured the title,” he added.
Of the seven events, Kibande registered five victories to assert his contention against his competitors.
“It has been a great season. I learnt a lot this year. The Jinja rally, where I registered my first incident, taught me that we cannot always have it smooth.”
“It is because of that event that we were able to control ourselves this weekend to finish the event,” he told Kawowo Sports.
Kibande shared with Kawowo Sports his move from the street race to rallying.
“All those street racers admire these rally people. So I always had this admiration for rallying. The respect it comes with, the organisation and many things,” he narrated.
“Street racing is branded negatively. I no longer wanted to be branded in that way, as a street racer. Rally has given me some respect and I can introduce myself anywhere as a rally driver without any shame,” he added.
”I send my appreciation to all my sponsors and whoever has helped me to achieve this milestone. We are champions because of them.”
Kibande was followed by Ahmed Kateete as the first runner-up with Kevin Bebeto as second in the category.