Mike Mukula Jr is focused on making a podium finish in the Vivo Energy Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally Championship, to bag his first Africa Rally Championship (ARC) points.

After upgrading to a more powerful Subaru N-14 from the Subaru Impreza N-12 for this year’s championship, Club Rally Champion Mukula is now ready to compete for both the National Rally Championship (NRC) and the ARC, starting with the Pearl of Africa event due in Jinja, May 5-7.

And his ambitions have come at a better time after him and two-wheel drive defending champion Oscar Ntambi received KCB Bank support ahead of the rally expected to attract Africa’s top drivers that are chasing for the ARC.

KCB Bank Head of Marketing and Communication Diana Ssempebwa (left) and FMU president Dipu Ruparelia sign copys of the Pearl of Africa Rally sponsorship agreement at KCB head office, as COC Omar Mayanja looks on. Photo by Michael Nsubuga

“We had an even inferior car last year but we were able to pull off good performances. This year we have upgraded and we believe the upgrade is going to benefit us and we hope to do our best,” Mukula said shortly after putting pen to paper with the Head of Marketing and Communication Diana Ssempebwa, at the bank’s head office in Kampala yesterday.

“It’s good to see KCB Bank which has previously been sponsoring Kenyan drivers, now also backing us. We are now ‘vibed-up’ and energized to perform. We can’t say it’s going to be an easy fight but we are going to unleash the fight in us and we are ready to go.

“We want to be conservative and ensure we finish the rally. We are prepared for all the weather conditions. It’s a prestigious level and everyone will want to win it. Our preparations and ambitions to compete in the ARC have been strengthened,” Mukula said before he thanked the fans for the support that he believes played a part in securing the sponsorship.

He said their main focus is to ensure they complete the rally in a respectable position.

“We are going into the biggest event on the continent so what we are going to do is to try as much as possible to finish and that’s our main focus right now. We had a pretty good season last year and right now there are many drivers, everyone is well prepared, and all the crews are very ready to fight, so we expect a tough battle from all the drivers from around the continent so we’ll try our best; finishing is our main focus,”

L-R: FMU General Secretary Leira Mayanja, Mike Mukula Jr, KCB Bank Head of Marketing and Communication Diana Ssempebwa,Oscar Ntambi, FMU president Dipu Ruparelia and POAUR COC Omar Mayanja

“We want to go to the ARC but there are certain specs we have to go through but ideally we want to be able to represent the country not only on the local but African calendar, so we are looking for a podium both in the NRC and ARC. Our pace last year showed that we can do this,” Mukula noted.

For Ntambi, the first target is on defending the two-wheel category championship, “and we don’t see anyone stopping us from achieving that,” he said.

“It’s going to be our second time competing in this event and we were lucky that all went on our debut last year, so we are excited to be back for the second and we are ready, and we have received a sponsorship in the right time so we are ready,” Ntambi stated.

At the same time, KCB’s Ssempebwa unveiled a sh80m sponsorship package to the FMU executive led by President Dipu Ruparelia, General Secretary Leira Mayanja, Clerk of Course Omar Mayanja, and his deputy Alfred Ofong towards the rally preparations.

Ssempebwa said it was a privilege and an honour for the bank to celebrate another partnership with FMU and congratulated them on hosting a successful event last year.

“We are passionate about sports and motorsport is in our blood we are currently in ‘rally mode’ and this is part of our commitment to support sport in Uganda and see our sport elevated to another level,” Ssempebwa stated.

She encouraged fans to maintain safety during the three-day event before she unveiled the KCB-sponsored crews of Mike Mukula/Edward Kiyingi and Oscar Ntambi/Asuman Mohamed as their brand ambassadors to the event.

COC Omar Mayanja said all international drivers will arrive in Jinja on Monday before they handle documentation on Tuesday before scrutineering and technical checks on Wednesday and Thursday as well as raking for the drivers on the same days.

“On Friday there will be a qualifying stage for the ARC competitors to determine their starting positions for the ARC competitors, ahead of the opening 7 stages on Saturday with three between 7-9 am which will be repeated from 11 am around Buikwe,” Mayanja noted.

He said the cars will be running for six hours consecutively and converging in one place before another 15km stage that will complete 132km of competition. The cars will then move to Bujagali on Sunday for the latter stages of the rally. He advised the fans to carry their rain gadgets and to keep discipline while watching the cars.

Ruparelia welcomed KCB’s involvement and cautioned the fans to maintain and follow the safety standards so that Uganda is not banned from hosting the event.

Ofong said the spectators will be provided with viewing notes which will indicate where they will watch in a safer environment and also help them interact with the sponsors.