Karan Patel stormed to a third straight Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally victory on Saturday, becoming only the second driver in history to claim three consecutive wins at the iconic event after countryman Manvir Baryan.
Patel had his campaign effectively sealed when longtime leader Samman Vohra suffered a driveshaft failure towards the end of the SS10 speed test.
With Tauseef Khan on the notes, Patel won in Jinja in 2024 and in Mbarara in 2025 and 2026, equaling Baryan’s stellar run of 2017, 2018, and 2019.
The crucial win came after a dramatic twist on SS10 Kaguta 3, where Vohra stopped due to mechanical failure and lost significant time.
The ARC Junior Champion, Vohra, had dominated the weekend, beating Patel by 1:58.3 in SS1 and 2:31.1 in SS2, and leading by 5:49 after Friday’s Leg 1.
Vohra was left to rue what turned out to be a second heartbreak in Uganda, despite setting the pace throughout the weekend.
Patel’s own rally nearly unraveled on Friday when power steering issues cost him time, but he recovered well on Saturday’s latter stages to stay in contention. When Vohra hit trouble in SS10, Patel assumed the lead and held it to the finish.
For Vohra, it is another cruel chapter in Uganda. He retired from the event last year and has yet to conquer the Ugandan terrain despite impressive speed, but he bounced back to claim maximum bonus points on the closing Shell V-Power Stage, finishing second to Patel.
Patel now leads the Africa Rally Championship standings with 83 points after a weekend of survival, with Vohra ascending to second with 66 points and Aakif Virani in third with 60.
Reigning African Rally Champion Yasin Nasser and local favorite Iceman Chana finished third overall, followed by Aakif Virani and Jasmeet Chana.
Aakif held second place until incurring a five-minute penalty.
Iceman Chana was all smiles on his Uganda debut: “The essence this weekend was to drive with our head, not to take too many risks. We could have done better, but we faced power steering and driveshaft issues in Friday’s Leg 1.”
Charlie Lubega of Uganda has also won this event three times, albeit not consecutively.