2010 KCB POAUR - winners and losers

The 2010 Edition of the KCB Pearl of Africa Rally – Winners and losers

Though it looks like the final result of last weekend’s KCB Pearl of Africa rally was taken out of my script (top 10 to watch), there were still a lot of revelations even for the seer in me. As it turned out, this rally could have been won by any of 3 people considering that a single puncture could have snatched the lead from event winner Jamie White. You also have to go back more than a few years to when podium finishers were separated by a couple of minutes. You probably have to go back many more years to a time when stages were won by 6 different drivers!!!

But such was the competitiveness of the Pearl that while Lwakataka was attacking from the front, Godfrey Lubega was attacking from the back to crown himself the King of Kiwoko – a stage he won both times it was run. Mark you, this Lubega (no relation to Charles) is only in his second season of competition. It is only mean people who say “you have all done well but there can only be one winner!” – for me, these are the winners:

Jamie White – For taking another basketful of ARC points and winning the rally outright even when he did not have to – following the retirement and poor luck of Jas Mangat and Giancarlo Davite. But by so doing, he has opened up the possibility of winning the ARC as early as May in Kigali.

Ronald Sebuguzi
Sebuguzi was constantly aware of the steep learning curve he was facing when he took delivery of his new car days to the start of the rally. Being able to exchange stage times and stage wins with arch rival Ponsiano Lwakataka was enough for him. But he got more just for trying and coming very close. At the end of the last competitive section, Lwakataka had beaten him by 7 seconds – before the roof caved in on Lwakataka and handed Sebuguzi a fat go at the 2010 NRC even after skipping the first round and forsaking 100 points when he did not go to Mbarara.

Nasser Mutebi
The dark (and poor cousin) horse of the rally, Nasser drove from the heart and won himself many hearts even before the rally was over. His combination of showmanship and preservation of the car had him up as high as 2nd overall at the mid-point of the rally. Nasser is also in only his second season of competition and was driving one of the older cars in the race. And when all was said and done, his effort handed him the overall lead of the 2010 NRC and a margin of 40 pts ahead of his closest challenger.

But you cannot have winners without losers, who are also many but I will stick to just 2:

Ponsiano Lwakataka
The mafu-mafu driver did all of us proud by sharing stage wins with the continent’s best and who knows what would have happened if he had not had that fatal encounter with cyclists. At the end of the last competitive section, Lwakataka had in fact finished in 2nd overall but failed to get his car to the ceremonial finish. And just like that he forfeited his claim on the podium but most importantly – dived from first on the 2010 NRC standings to an iffy 4th place – 80 pts shy of the lead. Lwakataka is also a loser for failing to challenge the people that had handed him a capital punishment (disqualification) when he completed all competitive stages even as drivers like Charles Muhangi and Susan Muwonge were given unprecedented chances at finishing with honors after missing stages.

Organiser
At the end of the day, a dark cloud hang over the rally with safety concerns being echoed across all news channels when they should have been hailing the winners, sponsors and fans. While I understand the technicalities of the sport’s regulation and recognise the near certainty that the organizer is indemnified in the event of accidents such as was witnessed last weekend, I believe that when lives are lost people should have some answers. The list of casualties could have been much higher if Godfrey Lubega had lost control of his car just 5 metres behind where he actually did at the Kiwoko TC – ultimately smashing 4 spectator cars and using them as a cushion to save his own life and keep him in the rally.

We also witnessed a skirmish when locals were bullied by safety marshals, marshals were “worked on”, reinforcements were dispatched from the service park to “avenge” the treatment, only for them to receive the same treatment! This is not only an embarrassment to the organizer, it is also an insult to the communities that host our events.

Organiser again
With only 17 starters and 9 real finishers (not counting the 5-minute rule cars) – this year’s edition of the POAUR probably has the record for the smallest number of starters – including the years when there was no sponsorship. For a rally that counts for the NRC, it beats my understanding that cars which normally compete in the NRC were not given a chance to compete and score in that category. This not only disenfranchised those competitors but also short-changed the sponsor. The Kenyan round which was held a month ago and sponsored by the same company, and to which the Ugandan organizers were famously hosted as observers, had more than 40 cars with almost half only competing in the national and 2WD championships.

Star of the Rally - Steven Byaruhanga
Clerk of Course Stephen Byaruhanga rose to the challenge for the second time in difficult times to design a course that had every driver wringing their hands at the thrill it promised. He delivered on that promise and also produced (in my humble opinion) the most hotly contested event in our rallying history. Stages were won by Mangat, White, Lwakataka, Lubega, Sebuguzi and Davite. There were position changes in the top 5 at the end of each stage. Retirements were mostly blamed on high speed off-road excursions rather than holes and trenches in the middle of the road. I pray that Byaruhanga is asked and he accepts (reluctantly of course) to pull this off again next year.