Editor's Review

The Morogoro route is expected to provide a demanding conclusion to the season, with the championship still undecided.

By GPC News Desk

Kenyan drivers Karan Patel and Aakif Virani will battle for the 2026 FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) title when the Serengeti Rally of Tanzania takes place in Morogoro from October 2 to 4.

The event, organised by the Automobile Association (AA) of Tanzania, will be the fourth and final round of the continental championship after a season that has taken competitors through Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

Also Read

The Morogoro route is expected to provide a demanding conclusion to the season, with the championship still undecided.

Karan, Virani in title battle

Patel leads the ARC standings on 118 points after three rounds, while Virani is second on 85 points. Kenya’s Jasmeet Chana is third on 67 points, followed by compatriot Samman Vohra on 66.

Patel, who will be navigated by Tauseef Khan in a Skoda Fabia RC2 Rally2, is seeking his third African title.

Virani, who recently won the Masters’ Championship, will compete in another Skoda Fabia RC2 Rally2 with Zahir Shah as his co-driver.

Patel enters the final round as the championship leader, while Virani retains a mathematical chance of overtaking him.

The ARC field will also feature Uganda’s Yasin Nasser in a Ford Fiesta MK II, Uganda’s Oscar Ntambi in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, Kenya’s Sameer Nanji in a Subaru Impreza and Uganda’s Nsereko Godfrey in a Toyota Etios.

Women feature in Morogoro field

The event will also feature two prominent women in East African rallying.

Tanzania’s Monica Lyimo will navigate for Bob Taylor in car No.28 for Amapiano Motorsport. The pair will compete in a Subaru Impreza, with Lyimo bringing considerable experience from Tanzania’s National Rally Championship (NRC).

Uganda’s Susan Muwonge, a former national champion, will compete as a driver in a Subaru Impreza NRC4 with Musa Nsubuga as her co-driver.

Muwonge is the only female driver in the ARC category and will compete in car No.105. She has previously competed in some of the region’s toughest rallies.

Tanzanian drivers lead home challenge

Tanzania’s Manveer Birdi will represent ASAS Rally Team in car No.7, driving an ex-Samman Vohra Skoda Fabia Evo with Zubery Piredina as co-driver.

Birdi has regularly featured on the podium in both the ARC and NRC and will be hoping to use his knowledge of the local terrain to his advantage.

Ahmed Huwel, driving car No.1, will lead the Tanzanian ARC challenge in the only Toyota Yaris GR RC2 Rally2 on the entry list. He will be navigated by Roheet Solanki.

Huwel and Birdi are entered to score points in both the ARC and NRC categories.

Last year’s ARC2 title was won by Tanzania’s Prince Charles Nyerere. This year, Uganda’s Oscar Ntambi leads the ARC2 standings with 69 points and can secure the title in Morogoro if his closest rival, Chris Kanagire, who has 62 points, does not beat the September 25 late-entry deadline.

23-car entry list released

The provisional entry list released on September 18 shows 23 cars, subject to FIA approval.

The organisers said 15 crews had entered the NRC by the close of normal entries, alongside 10 ARC competitors. However, the detailed provisional list supplied contains 13 NRC entries, giving a total of 23 cars.

The NRC field includes three crews from Mkwawa Rally Team — Salum Balhabou and Riyaz Ismail in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, Waleed Nahdi and Ali Hamoud in a Subaru Impreza, and Hamid Mbatta and Ayman Baghozah in another Subaru.

ASAS Rally Team has Harinder Deere and Victor Jackson in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, alongside Erfan Aladin and Enoch Olinga in another Evo 9.

AESL Rally Team’s Gurpal Sandhu will drive a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X with Zambian co-driver Dave Sihoka.

Sihoka is a two-time African champion.

Amapiano Motorsport has Charles Bicco and David Matete in a Subaru Impreza, as well as Bob Taylor and Monica Lyimo in another Subaru.

Other NRC entries are Linglong Racing Team’s Tufail Tufail and Zuber Kara in a Subaru Impreza; Vishal Patel and Rumeet Nanji in a Subaru Impreza; Mussa Mswaki and Saidi Hamisi of 0-60 Motorsport in a Subaru Impreza; and Marey Kithir and Awadh Bafadhil of Overland Rally Team in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.

The field is completed by Odeon Tumwebaze and Mukuye Hussein of Uganda, who will compete in a Toyota Altezza.

ARC provisional entry list

The 10 ARC entries are:

  1. No. 1 Ahmed Huwel/Roheet Solanki — Tanzania/Tanzania, Toyota Yaris GR, RC2 Rally2, Priority NRC/ARC.
  2. No. 7 Manveer Birdi/Zubery Piredina — Tanzania/Tanzania, Skoda Fabia Evo, RC2 Rally2, Priority NRC/ARC.
  3. No. 101 Yasin Nasser/Ali Katumba — Uganda/Uganda, Ford Fiesta MK II, RC2 Rally2, Priority FIA/ARC.
  4. No. 102 Jasmeet Chana/Ravi Chana — Kenya/Kenya, Ford Fiesta, RC2 Rally2, ARC.
  5. No. 103 Karan Patel/Tauseef Khan — Kenya/Kenya, Skoda Fabia, RC2 Rally2, Priority FIA/ARC.
  6. No. 104 Aakif Virani/Zahir Shah — Kenya/Kenya, Skoda Fabia, RC2 Rally2, Priority ARC.
  7. No. 105 Susan Muwonge/Musa Nsubuga — Uganda/Uganda, Subaru Impreza, RC2 NR4, Priority ARC2.
  8. No. 106 Oscar Ntambi/Pius Luggya — Uganda/Uganda, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, RC2 NR4, Priority ARC2.
  9. No. 107 Sameer Nanji/co-driver TBA — Kenya, Subaru Impreza, RC2 NR4, Priority ARC2.
  10. No. 108 Nsereko Godfrey/Musisi Bosco — Uganda/Uganda, Toyota Etios, RC4 Rally4, Priority ARC2.

NRC provisional entry list

The 13 NRC entries listed are:

  1. No. 21 Salum Balhabou/Riyaz Ismail — Tanzania/Kenya, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, NRC 2.
  2. No. 3 Gurpal Sandhu/Dave Sihoka — Tanzania/Zambia, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, NRC 3.
  3. No. 5 Waleed Nahdi/Ali Hamoud — Tanzania/Tanzania, Subaru Impreza, NRC 3.
  4. No. 8 Charles Bicco/David Matete — Tanzania/Tanzania, Subaru Impreza, NRC 3.
  5. No. 16 Hamid Mbatta/Ayman Baghozah — Tanzania/Tanzania, Subaru Impreza, NRC 3.
  6. No. 22 Tufail Tufail/Zuber Kara — Tanzania/Tanzania, Subaru Impreza, NRC 3.
  7. No. 23 Harinder Deere/Victor Jackson — Tanzania/Tanzania, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, NRC 3.
  8. No. 24 Vishal Patel/Rumeet Nanji — Tanzania/Tanzania, Subaru Impreza, NRC 3.
  9. No. 25 Mussa Mswaki/Saidi Hamisi — Tanzania/Tanzania, Subaru Impreza, NRC 3.
  10. No. 27 Marey Kithir/Awadh Bafadhil — Tanzania/Tanzania, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, NRC 3.
  11. No. 28 Bob Taylor/Monica Lyimo — Tanzania/Tanzania, Subaru Impreza, NRC 3.
  12. No. 29 Erfan Aladin/Enoch Olinga — Tanzania/Uganda, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, NRC 3.
  13. No. 109 Odeon Tumwebaze/Mukuye Hussein — Uganda/Uganda, Toyota Altezza, NRC 3.

The provisional entry list is subject to FIA approval and was released on September 18.

With the African title still undecided and the NRC providing a separate battle for local crews, the October 2-4 Morogoro rally will bring the 2026 continental season to a close.

2026 FIA African Rally Championship standings after Round 3 in Rwanda

PositionDriverCountryPoints
1Karan PatelKenya118
2Aakif ViraniKenya85
3Jasmeet ChanaKenya67
4Samman VohraKenya66
5Oscar NtambiUganda38
6Yasin NasserUganda34