BY FRANK KAHEESI & S.MBABAZI – NAIVASHA
Uganda’s only light candle at the 2024 WRC Safari Rally burns out. The moil-sponsored crew of Yasin Nasser and Ally Katumba in Ford Fiesta MKII, popularly known as Nemo flip, rolled at the fesh fesh section of day two’s last stage of Kedong.
Nasser and co-driver Ally Katumba were unharmed in the incident. Despite the setback, Nasser remained optimistic.
“You need not worry, we coming back strong in three weeks,” said Nasser as his wreckage rally was being loaded.
“It’s good we have been able to measure ourselves up against the world’s big boys, and our times were not that bad,” Naser added.
Another Ford Fiesta MKII crew of Georgios Vasilakis co-driven by Thomas Krawszik survived rolling at same spot.
Nasser’s misfortune wasn’t unique. Hyundai drivers Esapekka Lappi and Ott Tanak suffered car breakdowns in the Geo Thermal and Loldia stages, relinquishing their earlier lead to Toyota Gazoo Racing team.
Toyota Maintains Lead
Toyota Gazoo Racing finished day two in a commanding 1-2-3 position. Reigning world champion Kalle Rovanpera leads the Safari Rally by 56.9 seconds over teammate Elfyn Evans, with Takamoto Katsuta a full minute behind.
In the WRC2 category, Gus Greensmith (Ford) holds the lead, followed by Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Oliver Solberg in second and third place, respectively.
Today (day three), drivers will tackle the Soysambu, Elmenteita, and Sleeping Warrior stages, covering a total competitive distance of 160.9 kilometers.
Courtesy Photos
