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Duncan Mubiru' Kikankane' rewrote history books by winning the 2023 Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally for the first time in his career.
Duncan had promised to chase top corners, telling Pulse Sports before Friday's opening ceremony, "I am here for nothing but victory, watch this space."
But the victory was not straightforward, with Yasin Nasser and Jas Mangat setting the pace early on, as Duncan laid fifth after the first pass through Saturday's stages.
But the Pearl Rally took a dramatic twist on the mid-morning loop, with Mangat suffering engine failure after taking the lead on stage five.
Nasser also quickly ran into trouble on the next stage with damage to his steering rack, causing him to bleed for over three minutes.
Kikankane was ready to pounce on the drama up front, seizing the rally lead by posting the fastest time through the second pass of the SCOUL stage, beating national champion Byron Rugomoka by 24 seconds.
Even with Rugomoka posting the fastest time through the rally's final stage (Edwin Kalule), he only chopped Mubiru's lead to within five seconds, leaving the battle for victory perfectly poised going into Sunday's five stages.
He replied by extending his overall lead to over 1:30s by the time the crews returned to the first service on Sunday.
With the rally reduced after the penultimateWairaka section was chalked off over safety concerns, Mubiru only had to do damage control through the two passes of the super particular stage.
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15:58 - 06.05.2023
MOTORSPORT Pearl of Africa Rally: Kikankane inherits lead after Nasser, Mangat trouble
Mubiru Duncan ‘Kikankane’ has inherited the 2023 Pearl of Africa Rally lead after drama-struck leading duo Yasin Nasser and Jas Mangat following Saturday’s afternoon loop.
Mubiru saved the best for last in the final pass, posting the fastest time to make the victory even sweeter, with Rugomoka holding onto second position overall.
"It was an incredible event; it went well. I knew what my goal was, and I have delivered. This one was for my fans," Mubiru told Pulse Sports.
Nasser recovered well on Sunday to climb from ninth to take the final podium position ahead of Hassan Alwi, who finished fourth. Mangat could only fight back to take fifth.
Nasser topped the Africa Rally Championship (ARC) category to go into the lead of the continental championship.
Rookie Kenyan driver Rio Smith and co-driver Riyaz Ismail finished an impressive second in what was only his seventh career rally.
It was a special moment for Smith with his father, Don Smith, who won the ARC in 2016 after finishing second in the category in the Pearl Rally.
Mangat finished third, with Innocent Bwamiki and Hamza Lwanga also recovering from their trouble on day one to finish fourth in the ARC category.
Nasser tops the ARC standings with 50 points, eight points ahead of Mangat. Kenya's Karan Patel is third in the standings, with the championship headed for Tanzania next.
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