Jas Mangat/ Mussa Nsubuga (Ford Fiesta Proto) 01:23:32.3
Patel, the Kenyan championship leader, had never previously won a round of the African Rally Championship (ARC) in Rwanda but over the weekend, he grabbed the Mountain Gorilla Rally 2022 that came to an end in Bugesera District.
Navigated by Tauseef Khan in a Ford Fiesta Rally 2, Karan achieved the feat by clocking a cumulative two-day total of 01:19:40.3hours.
The Nairobi driver defeated Zambia’s Leroy Gomes by 13 seconds to register his third victory to top the series with his Ford Fiesta while Hamza Anwar (KEN) and Adnan Din (KEN) sealed the podium.
Following victories in Kenya’s Equatorial rally and in Tanzania Atlantic rally, it’s Karan’s third win of the season that marks him as the only real challenger to Lorey Gomes in the title race.
Lorey Gomes, who was driving a Ford Fiesta R5 with his wife Urshila Gomes as navigator battled but lost, falling 13 seconds short of winning.
Lorey Gomes (left) was driving a Ford Fiesta R5 with his wife Urshila Gomes right as navigator
After the event, Gomes who was not happy pointed out “The terrain did not suit the gearbox we chose. Instead of a long ratio gearbox, we chose a short ratio one. And that’s what cost us the competition, or better still, the win.”
“At her limit, Michilika, our car was unable to move any quicker. We were on the 174 km limit for the majority of the stage. Our brothers Karan and Tauseef decided on a long ratio and could go up to 186km.” He added
Lorey Gomes still leads the table standings by 126 points, but Karan at (105 pts) has given him a ran for his money.
Mountain Gorilla Rally was the 5th round of the ARC which had 17 crew members starting the event.
Since Gomes couldn’t clinch the ARC title in Rwanda, will have to be decided in the Zambia International Rally to be held in Lusaka between 21st to 23rd October 2022.
Meanwhile, Anwar Hamzar (KEN) finished third with 01:21:21:8 ahead of Jas Mangat (UG) in fourth place.
Mangat, the Ugandan champion capped the ARC 2 Championship category while Anwar Hamzar topped the ARC 3 Championship group as well as the Junior class.
Jeremial Wahome (Ken) came fifth, Kimathi McRae (sixth) and Duncan Mubira (UG) went
Meanwhile, Rwandan champion Giancarlo Davite in his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO was the only casualty of the event. Jean Claude Gakwaya, navigated by Jean Claude Mugabo (Subaru Impreza) also struggled with 01:37:58.8 to finish 12th.
The 22nd Mountain Gorilla event consisted of twelve stages covering a total competitive distance of 195.36 kilometers.
