Naivasha – Uganda’s only beacon at the 2024 WRC Safari Rally flickered out on Friday after the Moil-sponsored crew of Yasin Nasser and Ali Katumba in the Ford Fiesta MKII, popularly known as Nemo, flipped at the fesh fesh section of day two’s last stage, Kedong, during the ongoing WRC Safari Rally in Naivasha, Kenya.
Another Ford Fiesta MKII crew, Georgios Vasilakis co-driven by Thomas Krawszik, survived a roll at the same spot.
“You need not worry, we’re coming back strong in three weeks,” said Nasser as his wrecked rally car was being loaded.
Nasser added, “It’s good we have been able to measure ourselves against the world’s big boys, and our times were not that bad.”
Sharing the same misfortune as Nasser were Hyundai’s drivers Esapekka Lappi and Ott Tanak, who broke down in the Geo Thermal and Loldia stages, relinquishing their earlier lead to Toyota.
Safari Rally recap
Ending day two on a good note, the Toyota Gazoo Racing team resumed the 1-2-3 position lead, with defending world champion Kalle Rovanpera leading the Safari by 56.9 seconds over teammate Elfyn Evans, followed by Takamoto Katsuta trailing by a full minute.
In the WRC2 category, Ford’s Gus Greensmith leads, followed by Kajetan Kajetamonica and Oliver Solberg in second and third place, respectively.
Today, drivers were out to cover stages Soysambu, Elmenteita, and Sleeping Warrior, totaling 160.9 km of competitive terrain.
Compiled by Frank Kaheesi & S. Mbabazi
