Kenyan, Karan Patel is among the contenders to win the African Rally Championship in Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally 2024, while the closest Rwandan is Giancarlo Davite who played with Sandrine Isheja.
The Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally was played for the 24th time, it ended in the rain on Sunday, October 20, 2024 after three days of being played on the streets of Kigali and Bugesera. The race was attended by the leading drivers of this year's African Championship, Karan Patel from Kenya against his partner, Sachania Nikhil, Ugandans, Mukula Micheal, Yassin Nasser and Tanzanian Nyerere Prince. On the last day, all these athletes had to go around the Nemba and Kamabuye roads four times, which were 24 kilometers long. Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally 2024 was marked by three stages, attended by 21 athletes. 16 of them finished the race. The first round was played at the Kimihurura road junction next to the Kigali Convention Center while the second took place on the roads of Bugesera District including Gako, Nemba, Ruhuha and Kamabuye.
The final day was played at Nemba and Kamabuye roads, where the area was won by Kenyan Patel Karan and Khan Taussef in a Skoda Fabia R5.
The athlete overall won the race with a time of 1 hour, 25 minutes and 43 seconds over the 97.8 miles, followed by Mukula Micheal of Uganda who was 10 minutes and 39 seconds faster.
The third was Sashania Nikhil while the fourth was Yassin Nasser from Uganda. The Rwandan who came closest was Kanangire Christian together with Tuyishime Régis who used a Subaru Impreza N12 car and finished in fourth place, and immediately went on to lead the National Championship. Kalimpinya Queen was the only woman driving as a main driver among the six in the race, helped by Ngabo Olivier who took 10th place.
After the race, there was an awarding ceremony for good performance, which was attended by the Minister of Sports Nyirishema Richard, the Mayor of Bugesera District, Mutabazi Richard and the General Manager of the Racing Association, Gakwaya Christian .
The Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally 2024 is the pre-final race that will be played in Kenya from November 29 to December 1, 2024, for the winner of the African Championship.
Currently, Karan Patel who was on 105 has moved up by 35 to 140 while Mukula Micheal is second on 47, passing Jas Mangat and Hamza Anwar who have played just one run.
