Businessman and Managing Director of the Ruparelia Group, Rajiv Ruparelia (29) is upbeat about this weekend’s 2019 Kabalega Rally, which is the penultimate round of the National Rally Championship.
Speaking to CEO EA Sports on phone from Hoima on Wednesday evening, Rajiv who was in high spirits told this reporter that he was going to put up his best but at the same time be careful given the wet weather and the slippery roads.
“I have just arrived in Hoima- it has been raining and the roads are slippery; anyone who tries to get over-ambitious on this terrain will face it rough.” he said adding: “But both cars- are ready. We will take it easy, go for the finish and the car will do the rest.”
This will be Rajiv’s first time in Kabalega Rally.
Rajiv, who only started rallying in May 2019 and recently graduated to National Rally Championship level has so far put up good performance in all the races he has been in.
In his first outing, the 29-year old Rajiv in a Polish-built Volkswagen Polo WRC Proto Car finished in an impressive second position, clocking a time of 10:44 in the Enduro Autocross Championship 2019 at Zion Estates in Ssisa- seconds behind experienced rally driver Ronald Ssebuguzi who won the race at a time 10:04 minutes.
Letters to My Younger Self: Winnie Nakimuli—"You Are Worthy Simply Because You Exist"In June, he won the Federation of Motorsport Clubs of Uganda (FMU) Autocross championship in Kayunga- posting the fastest time of 05:18.5 ahead of the crew comprising of Ponsiano Rwakataka in second position, Ronald Ssebuguzi in the third position posted a time of 05:22.2.
In August, in a Mitsubishi Evo 9, he won the Mosac Autocross Championship in Kapeeka, Nakaseke District, posting 05:21.0 ahead of Jonas Kansiime (05:24.0) and Christakis Fitidis (05:27.0) 05:18.5.
The Kabalega Rally is sponsored by Total Uganda, World Wide Movers, Uganda Communications Commission, Kontik Hotel and Hoima Municipal among others. The championship fight will kick off on Saturday morning with two stages before crews go into a Super Special Stage to cover a total competitive distance of 33.04kilometres on day one. Crews will eventually cover six stages on the final day to complete a total distance of 173.83 kilometres.
Yasin Nasser currently leads the championship with 355 points; 55 points more than second-placed Ronald Sebuguzi (300 points) while Christakis Fitidis is third on 285 points.
