ARC battle on at Lubiri
Sep 08, 2005
HIS chances of becoming the second African rally champion after Charles Muhangi (1999) are not entirely in his hands, but Riyaz Kurji must first win the Pearl of Africa Uganda rally this weekend to get there.
Douglas Mazune
Past winners
1998 Charles Muhangi
1999 Chipper Adams
2000 Charlie Lubega
2001 Paul Bailey
2002 Johnny Gimmel
2003 Charlie Lubega
2004 Charlie Lubega
HIS chances of becoming the second African rally champion after Charles Muhangi (1999) are not entirely in his hands, but Riyaz Kurji must first win the Pearl of Africa Uganda rally this weekend to get there.
Kurji steps in the cockpit of his glittering blue Subaru Impreza N-10 at the Super Special stage at Lubiri this afternoon with a mammoth task of getting nothing short of victory and hoping that championship leader Munna Singh of Zambia, who is eight points ahead, does not finish among the top six.
“I will do my best to measure up to the task,†Kurji said.
Singh was confident he would do enough to be crowned African champion in the Pearl, the last ARC event this year.
“I will definitely compete like I usually do and then decide the strategy later on,†Singh said.
Former African champion Muhangi felt he could still spoil the party for both contenders.
“The sections are good. I will attack early, there’s no joking around,†said Muhangi.
Meanwhile, safety delegate Hamid Gombe has warned spectators against crowding at Fly Finishes (F.Fs).
“Fans should remember that FIA nearly struck our rally off the Africa calendar because of poor safety, so it’s every motorsport lover’s role to protect our event by behaving well,†Gombe said. He said favourite caterer Salim Uhuru would only serve fans at viewing points.
Past winners
1998 Charles Muhangi
1999 Chipper Adams
2000 Charlie Lubega
2001 Paul Bailey
2002 Johnny Gimmel
2003 Charlie Lubega
2004 Charlie Lubega
HIS chances of becoming the second African rally champion after Charles Muhangi (1999) are not entirely in his hands, but Riyaz Kurji must first win the Pearl of Africa Uganda rally this weekend to get there.
Kurji steps in the cockpit of his glittering blue Subaru Impreza N-10 at the Super Special stage at Lubiri this afternoon with a mammoth task of getting nothing short of victory and hoping that championship leader Munna Singh of Zambia, who is eight points ahead, does not finish among the top six.
“I will do my best to measure up to the task,†Kurji said.
Singh was confident he would do enough to be crowned African champion in the Pearl, the last ARC event this year.
“I will definitely compete like I usually do and then decide the strategy later on,†Singh said.
Former African champion Muhangi felt he could still spoil the party for both contenders.
“The sections are good. I will attack early, there’s no joking around,†said Muhangi.
Meanwhile, safety delegate Hamid Gombe has warned spectators against crowding at Fly Finishes (F.Fs).
“Fans should remember that FIA nearly struck our rally off the Africa calendar because of poor safety, so it’s every motorsport lover’s role to protect our event by behaving well,†Gombe said. He said favourite caterer Salim Uhuru would only serve fans at viewing points.