Blick Jr wins Kabalega Rally, eyes second national title
Arthur Blick Jr
What you need to know:
Kabalega Rally. By winning the Total Kabalega Rally, the Shell Helix crew are now only 30 points behind Yasin Nasser. It is now a straight shootout between the two during the Mosac Rally next month.
For three years, Arthur Blick Jr went without a win in rally but back-to-back victories in Fort Portal and now in Hoima have put him right back in the championship race.
By winning the Total Kabalega Rally, the Shell Helix crew are now only 30 points behind Yasin Nasser. It is now a straight shootout between the two during the Mosac Rally next month.
Blick Jr, national champion in 2015 attributes his victory to the grace of God. “ First of all, I am grateful to the All Mighty (points his finger up) for this win and the support from family and sponsors,” he told Daily Monitor. “ It’s also a victory for our manager Amin Ameen who masterminded our 2015 triumph and is now back for 2019.”
Blick Jr also thanked Shell for their continued support. “It’s not a coincidence that two Shell team cars are one and two.”
Hajj Umar Mayanja, who was second, was lamenting about the puncture in Bagambe Tea (17.73km) section. “ The puncture put me off. I was recording best times all along, but having two Shell cars on the podium is a bonus,” he said.
Nasser, remains confident about winning his maiden title despite the setback . “The title is still in my hands. The consistency throughout the season will carry me to the end,” he said. Dr Ashraf Ahmed, the 2008 national title completed the podium places finishing third.
Earlier, Rajiv Ruparelia in VW Polo won the Clubman Rally Championship (CRC) category finishing 50 per cent of the event in a time 01:09:37 and announced his arrival at the big stage. The rookie driver dominated the day and kept fans on their toes. “This has been a good experience and I hope next year will challenge for the national title. Elsewhere, Ronald Ssebuguzi and Leon Ssenyange title ambitions ended with drive shaft problem while Duncan ‘Kikankane’ Mubiru dropped out with a fan belt problem.
Provisional results
Arthur Blick Jr/ George Semakula (EvoX). 01:41:20
Umar Mayanja/ Hussein Mukuye (Evo X). 01:41:40
Dr.Ashraf Ahmed/zubedda Abdulla (Subaru N14). 01:54:58
Yasin Nasser/ Ali Katumba (Subaru GVB). 02:01:45
Fred Busulwa/ Joseph Bongole (Subaru N10). 02:06:3
