Sebuguzi wins Kaliro Sugar Rally, Kansiime closes gap at the top
Ssebuguzi (R) and his co-driver Mugambwa celebrate their victory. PHOTO/DENIS EDEMA
What you need to know:
Sebuguzi alongside his co-driver Anthony Mugambwa drove their Ford Fiesta Proto through the 129.06kms in a time of one hour, 40 minutes and 20.74 seconds
Ronald Sebuguzi braved the wet conditions on Sunday to emerge winner of the Kaliro Sugar Rally that ran through the sugarcane plantations of Jinja and Iganga over the weekend.
Sebuguzi alongside his co-driver Anthony Mugambwa drove their Ford Fiesta Proto through the 129.06kms in a time of one hour, 40 minutes and 20.74 seconds to beat a strong challenge from National Rally Championship (NRC) title-contenders Jonas Kansiime and Byron Rugomoka.
Kansiime parked in second place after arriving three minutes and 23.07 seconds later while Rugomoka was over nine minutes late.
“Wet rallies normally don’t need a lot of skill but more of brainwork and caution and that’s what we did today,” Sebuguzi told Daily Monitor after the race.
“We’re still learning because we shifted from a right-hand to left-hand drive. The other drivers have also increased their pace as well, so we want to keep improving,” he added.
Coming into the three-day rally, Umar Dauda, Kansiime and Rugomoka looked the likely challengers for the table-leader Ponsiano Lwakataka but the former failed to make it to the podium giving Kansiime the gap to leap into second place on the table.
Lwakataka`, who was absent, maintains his lead on the table with 332 points but Kansiime cuts the gap to 50.5.
In the Clubman Rally Championship, Mike Mukula Jr and Edward Kiyingi drove for one hour, five minutes and 14.79 seconds to maintain his dominance despite being slapped a five-minute penalty.
Rashid Makumbi and Muhammad Batte finished first and second runners-up respectively.
A total of 34 drivers registered but only 16 completed. The rally heads to Rukungiri next month for the final leg of this season’s championship.
National Rally Championship
1. Ronald Sebuguzi – 1:40:20:74
2. Jonas Kansiime – 1:43:43:81
3. Byron Rugomoka – 1:50:01:68
4. Fred Busulwa – 1:51:45:20
5. Umar Dauda – 1:54:27:82
Clubman Rally Championship (CRC)
1.Mike Mukula – 1:05:14:79
2. Rashid Makumbi – 1:28:05:97
3. Muhammaed Batte – 1:33:29:49
