A Ugandan rally crew has won the ARC 4 class of the Africa Rally Championship, held in the Morogoro hills in Tanzania.
Dr Godfrey Nsereko drove for Uganda and was navigated by John Bosco Musisi.
Nsereko, who drives for Rally Team Fong, which belongs to the Southern Motor Club, said the win came from team spirit and the backing of Ugandans living in Tanzania.
He urged Ugandan rally drivers to work together and stay united.
“I would like to thank all our members, friends and family for their support with logistics, advice, encouragement and finances,” he said. “It is because of your support that we won this championship.”
He also thanked fellow drivers and navigators for their support. He said Ugandan crews should learn from their Tanzanian counterparts, who work together whichever team they belong to.
Nsereko, who is nicknamed “Crazy Doc”, won in a 2019 Toyota Etios. He said the car was prepared by Toyota South Africa.
Musisi said the Etios has a sequential gearbox and is two-wheel drive and runs on Reiger shocks and can reach 180km/h.
The crew said the car broke down during the race.
“God was on our side and we managed to complete the race,” they said.
Musisi said the car is worth Shs300m. He said it has not let them down since they started racing it.
Other Ugandan and regional drivers also took trophies. Kenya’s Karan Patel was crowned overall African Rally champion. Oscar Ntambi of the Forest Rally team, from the Eastern Motor Club, won ARC 2.
No ARC 3 trophy was awarded to a Ugandan crew because several drivers in that class could not compete because of engine failures.
Nsereko is no stranger to winning. He won the 2018 CRC Uganda rally. He has also won two-wheel-drive rallies in Mbarara, Masaka, Hoima and eastern Uganda.
He and Musisi have won the Pearl of Africa Rally twice. They also won the 2019 WRC candidate rally in Kenya.
“The WRC rally was one of my best events,” Musisi said.
The Southern Motor Club leadership praised the pair for flying Uganda’s flag high in Tanzania.
