Champion Nasser eyes cautious comeback at home Pearl Rally after Kenya setback

Reigning African Rally champion Yasin Nasser is doggedly set to recover lost ground at this weekend’s Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally, opting for a more cautious approach after a costly hiccup in Kenya.

Nasser, who last year became the first Ugandan to win the ARC title since Charles Muhangi in 1999, hopes to use his home event to claw back points in the 2026 championship chase.

He currently sits 10th on the ARC log behind frontrunners Karan Patel, Aakif Virani, Samman Vohra and Jasmeet Chana.

“As usual we are always ready but you can’t predict what happens with the rally cars,” Nasser said as scrutineering kicked off at Shell Makenke. “But as far as Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally is concerned, we are always ready, as you can see the scrutineering is going on right now.”

The Ugandan admitted the Kenya round dented his campaign.

“As you know we are very low on points from the WRC Safari Rally Kenya because we had a hiccup with the car during the event and had to rejoin the event on Super Rally. So our target should be finishing and whatever position we finish, we get some points.”

Recce revealed a fresh challenge for all crews and Nasser is leaving nothing to chance. “All the routes are different, they’re all new routes except for one. Quite fast, quite tricky, and let’s see how it goes,” Nasser said.

While the temptation is to attack, the African champion is keeping his eyes on the bigger picture.

“All the drivers will say what spectators want to hear, which is to go flat out, but our target is to finish the event which is the most important thing and earn some good points.”

Thursday, May 7 launches a busy rally week in Mbarara with the qualifying stage and free practice from 9:00am to 11:15am, followed by shakedown at midday. The ceremonial start is set for Lake View Resort from 5:10pm.

Leg 1 and Leg 2 run Friday and Saturday respectively. Post-event scrutineering returns to Shell Makenke on Saturday from 5:00pm, with prize giving at Lake View Resort to conclude Pearl 2026.