By Brian Bariyo Tumuramye
Hoima: The organisers of the Fort Portal rally had a reverse order from the usual start order; having clubman rally championship (CRC) and two-wheel drive (2WD) crew start first in the stages.
Hoima rally organisers will not use the varied rally start order that was experimented with during the fifth round of the national rally championship in Fort Portal last month.
The format that was intended on checking safety proved a success and was desired by several drivers, the format will however not be applied for the sixth round in Hoima.
“The start order in Fort Portal rally was unlawful at the same time a big risky to safety, “The format was luckily successful on safety but it went against the sporting codes. The starting order cannot be tempered with to the extent of starting the junior cars in the stages.
“In our rules, we have a starting order for the season. Anyone could have protested the order if anything went wrong,” said Justin Mungoma; Kabalega rally clerk of the course.
Rajiv Ruperalia, who was tackling his first NRC event was the first crew on the road in Fort Portal followed by other CRC crews and then 2WD crews, “If the fraternity really wants us to adopt to that format, then we have to legalise it in our regulations instead of risking something that can eventually be protested against us,” asserted Mungoma.
From the 2019 start order, Christakis Fitidis is expected to go first on the road, Kabalega rally is the penultimate round of the national rally championship scheduled for next weekend on 8-19th in Hoima.
