Mayanja tackles Safari Rally

Sport
Leila Mayanja has plunged in at the deep end as the only female Ugandan driver to compete in the KCB Kenya Safari Rally in Nairobi this weekend.

KAMPALA — Leila Mayanja has plunged in at the deep end as the only female Ugandan driver to compete in the KCB Kenya Safari Rally in Nairobi this weekend.

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The BIDCO Rally Team driver, in her recently acquired Mitsubishi Lancer Evo5, departed on Tuesday for the event that is the fifth round of the Africa Rally Championship.

“I will be driving in Kenya and I am hoping for the best,” Mayanja said.

She will be in the company of compatriots Jas Mangat (Mitsubishi Evo X, R4), Ismail Otega (Toyota Runnex) and Godfrey Wampamba (Subaru N10).

The Ugandan contingent was yesterday seen off by Federation of Motorsport Clubs of Uganda president George Kagimu who handed them the national flag.

Uganda national champion Mangat, vying for the Africa championship, left on Sunday to have ample time to map his car ahead of the race.

Mangat is second in the Africa championship with 40 points, just eight behind leader Jassy Singh with four races left.

Mangat coming off a convincing win in the Puma Energy Rally of Tanzania, will top the chart if he simply gets a podium finish in Kenya and is ahead of Singh and Rwandan Giancarlo Davite.

Kenya, which has a sizeable number of crews eligible to score Africa Championship points, will bring the best out of title contenders.

The continental championship ends in November with the Madagascar International Rally.