As the 2017 season end draws closer, tension is the name of the game with the drivers in the running for the national championship trying to upstage each other in the race to the finish line.
The Umospoc Kabalega Rally in Hoima due this weekend starting Friday August 18 and running up to Sunday is a must-watch for rally enthusiasts, but it will also be one where the top four crews in the 2017 National Rally Championship race cannot afford any slip-ups.
Christakis Fitidis, Ronald Sebuguzi, Duncan Mubiru and Kuku Ranjit are the four drivers still in with a realistic chance in the chase for this year’s title, and how each team knows they have no room for error as they head to western Uganda. Fitidis who is currently on 315 points tops the NRC table, with second placed Sebuguzi just 65 points back and in with a chance to reclaim the position he has enjoyed most of the time this season. Mubiru and Kuku are level on 230 points.
In the same rally, Arthur Blick Jr is confirmed among the 40 drivers after recovering from a broken collar bone which he suffered in June this year at the Shell Pearl of Africa Rally in Kayunga, The 2015 NRC champion and his wife Noella were involved in an accident which had kept him on the sidelines since. According to the event organisers, the Kabalega Rally, the penultimate round of the national championship will have a total of 362 km, but only 172.78km will be competitive.
Last year, Jas Mangat was declared the winner in the event albeit with a lot of protests from fellow drivers who claimed there had been irregularities in the implementation of the rules. Mangat posted 1:06:38 followed by Hassan Alwi with 01:08:30 while Susan Muwonge, Omar Mayanja and Yusuf Bukenya also registered top five finishes.
Current NRC Standings
Christakis Fitidis- 315pts
Ronald Sebuguzi-250pts
Duncan Mubiru -230pts
Kuku Ranjit-230pts