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Karan Patel wins Pearl of Africa Rally after Vohra's crash
Karan Patel navigated by Tauseef Khan competes in Malewa stage of the WRC Safari Rally on March 31,2024.
What you need to know:
- As the ARC moves to Rwanda for its third round on July 4 and 5, it offers another stage for top-tier competition — especially crucial for Kenyan drivers amid continued instability in the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC).
- The KNRC has ground to a halt due to administrative delays. The Registrar of Sports has yet to approve the Kenya Motor Sports Federation’s (KMSF) application for compliance with the Sports Act 2013, despite the process dragging on for eight months.
A new force has emerged in the Ugandan Pearl of Africa Rally Championship (ARC) — the first major event since the WRC Safari Rally nearly two months ago — with Kenyan Samman Vohra now seen as a serious contender to compatriot Karan Patel’s dominance in East African rallying.
While Patel remains the top-ranked driver in the region, Nikil Sachania is rapidly improving and is now poised to disrupt the established order. His transition from the outdated Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo to a modern Ford Fiesta Rally3 has significantly boosted his competitiveness.
Vohra, a Nairobi-based businessman and senior director at the Sarova Group, is considered a one-off driver but is already pushing the limits against Patel, Sachania, and former national champion Jasmeet Chana in the premier class of local rallying.
In Uganda, Vohra dominated much of the two-day Pearl of Africa Rally — the second round of the Africa Rally Championship (ARC) following the WRC Safari Rally, which also served as the ARC opener. He led the event until the Sunday's final day, when disaster struck.
Vohra held a commanding two-minute lead over Patel after a flawless run on Friday. He was well on course for a memorable victory until stage six around Mbarara, where his Skoda Fabia sustained terminal damage after landing off a jump and breaking the front right-hand side control arm.
That misfortune handed the lead to Patel, also driving a Skoda Fabia R5, who stayed out of trouble to secure back-to-back wins in Uganda. It also marked his first ARC points of the season following a disappointing WRC Safari performance.
Kenya's rising star Nikil Sachania followed closely behind, continuing his upward trajectory. Meanwhile, Uganda’s top crew — Yasin Nasser and Ali Katumba in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 — ran into near-fatal gearbox issues during the penultimate stage. They lost eight minutes but still managed to clinch third place in both the ARC and the Uganda National Rally Championship.
Aine Sodo Kaguta completed the ARC finishers list in fourth position.
In the National Rally Category (NRC), plenty of drama unfolded as multiple crews failed to finish. However, Duncan Mubiru, driving a Ford Fiesta Proto, defied the odds to claim victory among the NRC competitors.
As the ARC moves to Rwanda for its third round on July 4 and 5, it offers another stage for top-tier competition — especially crucial for Kenyan drivers amid continued instability in the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC).
The KNRC has ground to a halt due to administrative delays. The Registrar of Sports has yet to approve the Kenya Motor Sports Federation’s (KMSF) application for compliance with the Sports Act 2013, despite the process dragging on for eight months.
This impasse has severely affected the federation’s operations and disrupted national-level competitions, with various independent groups attempting to fill the void.
Adding to the challenges, KMSF is also facing financial strain. Fewer drivers are renewing competition licenses — its primary income source — and the federation is still awaiting the payment of Sh28 million in license fee arrears from the WRC Safari Rally Project, outstanding for the past two years.