Only 11 finish MOSAC Rally as bad weather frustrates drivers

Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Drivers have complained that the rains made the roads slippery and hard for them to navigate during the the 2021 Mosac Rally Championship held in the districts of Jinja and Mayuge on Saturday.

Duncan Mubiru “Kikankane” was crowned the 2020/2021 Uganda rally champion after emerging 4th in the final round of the series in Jinja. The rally was won by Omar Mayanja.

Thirty drivers were flagged off for the rally championship however, only 11 managed to successfully complete the race, as the rest were stuck in the earlier sections of the rally.

The roads were muddy with stagnant water in the deep ditches located along some sections of the earmarked rally route, making them inaccessible by some of the drivers.

Most of the vehicles sustained mechanical faults and were towed from the sections to the service park, where they were repaired.

Robert Katabalwa, a navigator says that they sought the aid of well-wishers who were cheering them up to help them manually tow their vehicle from one of the ditches, where it had gotten stuck.

He stresses that such abnormalities left big pieces of mud stuck in their tire reams, hence contributing to their slow pace within the race.

Godfrey Nsereko, a driver under the two-wheel category, says that driving within the muddy tracks requires a lot of concentration and is time consuming, which largely kills most drivers’ zeal and momentum to compete at their planned speed.

Also. Duncan Mubiru says that the muddy track antagonized his racing plan, as sensitive parts within his vehicle got extensively waterlogged and partly slowed down his pace.

Mubiru adds that after extensive servicing and comprehensive cleaning of the damaged parts, he managed to navigate through the final section of the rally with ease.

Meanwhile, Kiira region’s police spokesperson, James Mubi says that security operatives maintained safety of both rally drivers and fans alike, by ensuring that fans stood behind the tapes to prevent vehicles diverting off the slippery roads from ramming into the standby spectators.

Mubi stresses that, one female spectator whose particulars have been withheld sustained minor injuries and was rushed to Jinja regional referral hospital’s emergency unit for further management.

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