KAMPALA: Ugandan driver Yasin Nasser recovered from a mechanical breakdown yesterday, October 23 to finish in the eighth position of the ongoing Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally.
He has vowed to fight back in today’s final leg and catch up with the leading pack of the Kenyan trio.
Kenyans Carlo Tundo, Karan Patel and McRae Kimathi took command of day one action in the competitive route yesterday in Bugesera.
Tundo led from start, fighting for seconds in each other stage with fellow countryman, Patel in a Ford Fiesta R5.
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Tundo posted the best time of 46 minutes 47.1seconds, just 21.3seconds ahead of second placed Patel.
Kimathi, in a Ford Feista R4, came in third after South Africa’s Guy Botteril, who had kept in trail of the two lead Kenyans, dropped out due to engine knock.
Uganda’s only representative Nasser pushed his way back after a gruesome morning in which his car (Subaru GBV) had gearbox problems. At the end of the day, he settled for the eighth position.
“It’s a push and finish for us tomorrow, Sunday,” Nasser told this website in an online chat last night.
With four more competitive stages to decide the final results today, Nasser is ready for a great comeback and redeem his African Rally Championship (ARC) title dream.
He has 49 points thus far, with the final ARC round due next month in South Africa.
The late Charles Muhangi remains the only Ugandan driver to have won the ARC crown. He clinched it in 1999.
