Mangat very close to 2012 rally title

By Douglas Mazune

Nothing short of ill luck can stop Jas Mangat from claiming the 2012 National Rally Championship having tightened his grip on the title with a convincing victory in the Eastern Rally in Jinja Sunday.

Mangat (Subaru N12) put up a flawless display on the wet surface, beating Jomayi Rally Team’s Ronald Ssebuguzi by over two minutes to close in on the title.

The national title is a welcome consolation for Mangat whose Africa championship quest has failed for the third season in a row.

Mangat who took his tally to 383 points, 71 points clear of Ssebuguzi (Mitsubishi Evo9) needs just 30 points from the Independence Rally to claim silverware.

Kobil sponsored Susan ‘Super Lady’ Muwonge’s title defence came to an end when her Subaru N10 broke down in the last section in which another strong title contender Duncan Mubiru rolled his Subaru N14.

Earlier on in the race Nasser Mutebi rolled his Subaru N11 effectively burying his title hopes as well. He had intentions of closing the gap in the Mountain Gorilla Rwanda Rally but with a 274-point gap it is pointless to make the trip.

Rookie John Consta navigated by George Semakula continued to impress in his Subaru N8, claiming a podium position ahead of Shafi q Ssemujju (Subaru N11), Manraj Singh (Subaru N12) and Christakis Fitidis (Subaru N12).

Not one to go down easily Fitidis lodged protest against Consta and Mangat alleging that they should have been penalised in the service park at Kagoma. The stewards were due to hear the case.

Only 16 out of 28 crews finished the Eastern Motor Club event that exhibited remarkable improvement in organisation standards.

NRC standings                                              Results (Top 10)
J. Mangat                  383 points                   J. Mangat                   1:13.24
R. Ssebuguzi           312                                R. Ssebuguzi            1:15.52
C. Fitidis                    242                               J. Consta                    1:17.19
D. Mubiru                   235                               S. Semujju                 1:23.06
S. Muwonge              213                               S. Manraj                    1:25.02
E. Munghereza         156                               C. Fitidis                    1:26.46
N. Mutebi                   129                               S. Satvinder                1:34.02                           
Consta                       127                              O. Mayanja                 1:35.16
                                                                          A. Ofong                     1:36.28
                                                                          M. Sanya                     1:36.32