Super Lady fires worthy second shot

KAMPALA. When Susan Muwonge won the Clubman Rally Championship (CRC) 11 years ago, few paid attention. No one was bothered, maybe.
It was a surprise for many except for some who had followed her 2006 form when she clinched the sprint championship.
In fact, many within the rally fraternity contested a decision/vote by the Uganda Sports Press Association (Uspa) to name her rally driver of the year.
After all, the CRC competition is a second tier competition. The National Rally Championship (NRC), which went to Ronald Ssebuguzi, is being the gold standard.
You could argue that Muwonge, fondly known as The Super Lady, left journalists with a debt to justify their 2007 vote.
Four years on, driving the same Subaru N4, Super Lady became the first woman in male-dominated sport by winning the NRC.
She had been trailing Ponsiano Lwakataka for most of the season and went into the season-ending Independence Rally in Mukono five points adrift.
Lwakataka had sought to complete a spectacular comeback as he went for a fourth straight victory.
Ultimately, Muwonge’s steady drive triumphed on the last day as Lwakataka crashed out in the closing stages.
However, not once did she finish ahead of Lwakataka or Ssebuguzi when the duo finished a rally.

Consistency
Most of that success was premised on luck. Indeed she is. That’s all. “One of the people who helped teach me the most about rally is Lwakataka, I always thank him,” Muwonge attributes.
That year, 2011, won the season opener in Mbarara then finished third in next event held in Masaka. In the third event, also held in Masaka, Super Lady was third again.
A 105-point haul from the Pearl of Africa Rally as the best local driver was then followed by fifth place finish in Jinja before triumphing over Lwakataka in the final event.
All this time, the navigator, Edmond Kyeyune, was never changed, as well as a trusted mechanical team led by Fred Wampamba’s garage.
If that title was a fluke or hinged on luck, what of the repeat this year?
Uganda’s renowned lady driver has finished all seven events this year with her worst placing being 10th. Surely, you can’t buy this kind of luck.
To add to how good she is, she had taken a three-year sabbatical from the sport, opting for short sprints, only to return to the hard stuff this season.
Financial struggles played their part until she acquired a Subaru Impreza N12B, the car used by Zambia’s Mohammed Essa to win the Africa Rally Championship (ARC) in 2014.
You can call it a lucky car too but there is more to the handler than luck as Ssebuguzi figures out where it all went wrong. There is more to come from the Super Lady.

NRC ROLL OF HONOUR

2018 Suzan Muwonge
2017 Christakis Fitidis
2016 Jas Mangat
2015 Arthur Blick Junior
2014 Ronald Ssebuguzi
2013 Jas Mangat
2012 Jas Mangat
2011 Susan Muwonge
2010 Nasser Mutebi
2009 Ronald Ssebuguzi
2008 Dr Ashraf Ahmed
2007 Ponsiano Lwakataka
2006 Ronald Ssebuguzi
2005 Ponsiano Lwakataka
2004 Charlie Lubega
2003 Moses Lumala
2002 Charlie Lubega
2001 Charlie Lubega
2000 Charlie Lubega
1999 Moses Lumala