Believe it or not and you better believe and if you don’t believe it, kindly check your pulse or reboot your soul. The entry list for the 2025 Shell V-Power Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally is so gigantic that at some point we expected Noah to roll up in the Ark, co-driven by Moses, navigating via Google Maps! A mind-boggling, clutch-slamming, tyre-screeching 53 rally crews signed up by last Friday’s deadline enough drivers to cause a fuel shortage and make football jealous. This isn’t just a rally, it’s a full-blown horsepower stampede! Uganda’s motorsport history might need a new page-heck, we might as well print a whole new book!
Scheduled to blast off on Thursday, 8th April 2025, this prestigious event is pulling double duty serving as the second round of the African Rally Championship (ARC2) and the third round of the Uganda National Rally Championship (NRC3). Basically, it’s the motorsport equivalent of a Rolex watch that tells time, counts calories, brews coffee, and still looks fly.. Out of the 53 crews, 13 are ARC-registered meaning we’ve got a full-on rally Avengers assemble situation. only with more dust, less ironman.
Charging at the front of the ARC cavalry is none other than the reigning African Rally Champion Karan Patel and his right-hand man Tauseef Khan, cruising in their Škoda Fabia R5 basically a rocket disguised as a rally car. After missing out on points in the season opener these Kenyan speedsters are storming into Uganda like they’ve got a score to settle and nitro in their cereal. They’re not here to play games they’re here to reclaim their crown, eat dust (preferably not their own), and leave tyre marks on everyone’s hopes and dreams.
Also joining the continental chaos ( ARC chase) is Kenyan champion Samman Vohra, with Drew Sturrock yelling directions with the authority of a retired army general. Their campaign kicks off right here in Uganda, and let’s just say expectations are so high, they might need oxygen masks. Meanwhile, back for another round of rally madness are fan-favorite thrill machines Hamza Anwar and Adinan Din last year they lit up the Pearl like a fireworks factory with no safety officer, and this time they’re gunning for glory with tyres hot and confidence hotter.
Uganda’s hopes are strapped tighter than a rally harness onto the MOIL-sponsored duo of Yasin Nasser and Ali Katumba, who are back in action with their Ford Fiesta R5 a car so quick, it probably files for flight clearance before every stage. Already revving in fine form this season, these homegrown speedsters are aiming to milk every drop of home advantage like it’s fresh ghee at a village market. If all goes to plan, they’ll be gunning for that ARC points and with the crowd behind them don’t be surprised if they rocket straight to the top!
And then boom cue tire smoke and a little Beyoncé-style entrance—Susan “Super Lady” Muwonge is back! Her return has rally fans buzzing louder than a vuvuzela in a traffic jam. Teaming up with veteran co-driver Musa Nsubuga, who probably didn’t even need a GPS to say yes, Super Lady is diving back into the action like she never left. And honestly, her timing couldn’t be more perfect—what better stage for a comeback than the prestigious Pearl Rally? It’s basically Uganda’s version of the Oscars, and Susan just pulled up in a rally car instead of a limo.
On the national scene, the NRC title race is hotter than a Rolex on a charcoal stove. Ponsiano Lwakataka, winner of the first two rounds, is locked, loaded, and looking to extend his championship lead—with a right foot so heavy it probably leaves dents in the floorboard. The man doesn’t lift off the throttle he interrogates it. Meanwhile, Duncan “Kikankane” Mubiru is back with full voltage, and his Ford Fiesta in the last round in Masaka didn’t just show up it roared like a lion late for lunch. Then there’s the Ronald Sebuguzi, calmly holding second place on the NRC table while quietly plotting maximum-point mayhem like a rally ninja. And don’t blink because bursting onto the scene is the fresh combo of Dr. Moustapha Mukasa and Omar Mayanja, strapped into a newly rebuilt Mitsubishi Evo 9 so clean it might still smell like fresh paint.
As we speak, garages across Uganda are in full beast mode welding sparks are flying like fireworks on Independence Day, engines are roaring louder than a preacher with a malfunctioning mic, and sleep is a myth mechanics only read about in fairy tales pure panic. Sleep? Never heard of it. Down in Mbarara, hotels are shaking out bedsheets like they’re expecting royal guests, bars are stockpiling enough booze to float a boat, and DJs are updating playlists like it’s Nyege Nyege Rally Edition. The atmosphere? Charged. Like a spark plug on steroids.
Foreign crews will start touching down on Sunday, passports in one hand, steering wheel in the other. Local teams? They’re already revving for the big convoy to Mbarara, set to roll out ahead of recce on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you hear loud engines it’s not the end of the world. It’s just rally week, baby!
