The Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally has officially been launched today at Mestil Hotel in Nsambya! The countdown is on; 8th to 10th May, just a few days away, because apparently, we weren’t stressed enough about the calendar already.
And guess what? KCB Bank Uganda has slammed the pedal to the metal and injected a whopping UGX 80 million into the rally organization that’s so many zeros, you might need a calculator and a therapist to process it! Clearly, even the bankers have realized that sitting in air-conditioned offices sipping lattes is overrated it’s 2025, people! Real adventure means hitting the dirt, eating dust for breakfast, and wondering halfway through why you didn’t just stay in the boardroom where chairs don’t move at 200km/h!
The action kicks off on Thursday with a 4.20km qualifying stage exclusively for ARC crews. Basically, it’s a short, high-speed flex to see who can be the fastest and the most dramatic — without parking their car upside down in a bush (fingers crossed!). Later that day, all crews will have a shakedown — which, let’s be honest, is just a glamorous way of saying, “let’s abuse the cars a little bit before we officially start breaking them for real.” It’s like stretching before a marathon… if stretching involved burning rubber and occasional panic screaming.
Friday will bring two long stages because who doesn’t love driving forever through bushes — and later, the beloved Super Special Stage. Here, drivers will race head-to-head like angry siblings fighting over the TV remote. Expect spins, dust clouds, and a few “did you see that?!” moments.
Saturday, also known as Judgement Day (cue dramatic music), will unleash eight action-packed stages designed to test cars, drivers, and everyone’s blood pressure. And yes, we’ll wrap it all up with the mighty Power Stage, where drivers throw everything they’ve got at the road plus a few things they didn’t even know they had, like sudden bursts of bravery, questionable decision-making skills, or a deep, spiritual connection to the emergency brake. Expect chaos, glory, and a lot of “What just happened?!” moments!
The full rally will stretch across a mind-bending 486.26 kilometers. For context, that’s enough distance to drive from Kampala to Mbarara… twice… and still have time to argue about which turnoff you missed. Out of that, 188.10km will be competitive stages (where everyone drives like their hair is on fire) and 298.16km will be liaison basically the calm moments where you pretend your car isn’t begging for mercy. And get this, this year, 80 percent of the rally stages will be run inside a national park. Yes, a real, actual park with real, actual animals! So if you spot a giraffe giving you confusing hand signals or an elephant looking unimpressed with your driving line, just roll with it. You might even get overtaken by a sprinting warthog(Kasono), it’s that wild out here!
At the launch, the Clerk of the Course, Mr. Kisitu Mayanja, reassured the public that preparations are “going smoothly,” which is exactly what you want to hear when you’re about to throw cars sideways at 150km/h. He also begged fans to stay off the routes, stay out of dangerous places, and most importantly, stay sane.
“Drive safely to and from the rally,” he added. Translation: leave the rallying to the professionals. If your Toyota Wish starts jumping potholes like an Evo, please reconsider your life choices.
Entries officially closed last Saturday, and now we wait for the official entry list like kids on Christmas Eve hoping Santa remembered their rally car wish.
The Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally is ready to deliver dust, drama, horsepower, and probably a few surprises no one saw coming (looking at you, guy who brings a plastic chair to a live rally).
Uganda, the engines are warmed up, the dust is loaded — LET’S GO RALLYING!
