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Mubiru Duncan ‘Kikankane’ has inherited the 2023 Pearl of Africa Rally lead after drama-struck leading duo Yasin Nasser and Jas Mangat following Saturday’s afternoon loop.
Nasser had set up a 36-second lead after the first pass through the opening three stages, ahead of Mangat, with whom they quickly set up a head-to-head battle for victory.
Mangat cut that lead by 17 seconds in the fourth stage immediately after service and briefly took the lead on stage five with another fastest time (07:06.90) as Nasser’s Ford Fiesta R5 showed the first sign of struggling, bleeding 1:49 seconds to his foe.
But disaster struck on stage six as Mangat stopped his car with engine failure, which effectively ended his day.
Nasser thought he could fight back to reclaim some of the lost time on the same stage, but it got even worse for him as he suffered a broken steering rack.
He managed to nurse his car back to service, but he too would not take any more part in the rally as he eventually had to return to service and close business for the day with the problem persisting.
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21:21 - 05.05.2023
MOTORSPORT ARC shifts gears for the thrilling Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally
Marking the second consecutive ARC event in East Africa, the Ugandan leg of the continental championship provides a specific and divergent test for the car and crew from the one experienced in Voi, Kenya.
Kikankane had started the loop sitting fifth but completed the pass over Muna Singh (25 km), Frank Nekusa (8.65) and SCOUL (18.45), leading the rally by five seconds from defending national champion Byron Rugomoka.
Hassan Alwi survived the afternoon loop in third, some 23 seconds adrift, with the trio the only three competitors to benefit from the drama at the top.
Major causalities started with Innocent Bwamiki, whose first attempt at the African Rally Championship ended less than five kilometres with a broken suspension arm.
Ronald Ssebuguzi was next to feel the bite of the Pearl rally when an excursion with a stone left him with a broken driving arm 20 km into the section, despite being up to pace against the front runners.
Mike Mukula Jr. pulled through the opening loop but only with an episode of the drama, having to do over 15 km of the opening section on three tyres with a puncture.
13:45 - 06.05.2023
MOTORSPORT Pearl of Africa Rally: Nasser heads Mangat in a thrilling opening loop
Yasin Nasser set a hot early pace through the morning loop of the 2023 Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally on Saturday, with the top three drivers blanketed by less than 120 seconds.
Mukula suffered more trouble as he was forced to stop midway through the fourth stage.
Nasser, Mangat and Mukula will be on a recovery mission when they attempt a restart in Sunday’s five stages, which include the MagaMaga test (40.04 km) and repeated passes through the super special stage at Bujagali and Wairaka (14.59 km)
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