Former rally champion Christakis Fitidis is optimistic he can still fight for this year’s NRC title after landing a podium finish during last weekend’s Pearl of Africa Rally in Kayunga.
The 67-year-old was among the few crews that survived Pearl Rally setbacks to finish in fourth position overall and third on NRC. It was his first podium this year.
“Pearl rally was so tough this time. The first two stages could determine how far you could go. That’s why many crews didn’t go further than that and others had issues.
“Our strategy somehow worked. We were cautious in the morning stages although we later broke something which we managed to handle till the finish,” explained Christakis.
The podium finish would mean the Oryx Energies sponsored driver now falls within the title contention with three events remaining to the end of the season.
Christakis collected enough points to move him from sixth to third position on the NRC leaderboard with 223points; 62points behind leader Yasin Nasser.
“The championship is so open after pearl. Now that we stand a chance to attempt it, we shall not put that to waste.
“We just have to get a strategy in the remaining events and maintain consistency. If we can get top positions then anything can happen,” he added.
Christakis regained his consistent streak this season having finished in all the events this year.
Top Five NRC drivers standings
- Yasin Nasser 285Pts
- Ronald Sebuguzi 240
- Christakis Fitidis 223
- Arthur Blick 185
- Hassan Alwi 180