Vohra remains upbeat despite mechanical heartbreak in Uganda

Samman Vohra and his navigator Drew Sturrock/ FILE

Despite cruel mechanical gremlins at the Pearl of Uganda Rally over the weekend which knocked him out of contention, Kenyan ace Samman Vohra remains upbeat ahead of the final two rounds of the 2026 FIA Africa Rally Championship (ARC).

The 2026 FIA ARC started in March at the WRC Safari Rally before heading to Uganda over the weekend with the Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally (July 10-12) next while the series conclude at the Tanzania Mkwana Rally (October 2-4).

Vohra, runner-up in the 2025 African Rally Championship, had stamped his authority on the Pearl from the opening day, carving out a commanding eight-minute lead over the chasing pack.

However, his outing took a dramatic twist at SS10 Kaguta 3. A prop shaft exploded, costing him precious minutes and ultimately, the win.

Two-time African champion Karan Patel capitalised on the setback in ruthless fashion, charging to a third consecutive Uganda Rally victory.

Patel posted 2:03:06 to edge out Vohra, who settled for second in 2:04:44, while defending African champion Yasin Nasser of Uganda was third in 2:08:59.

The triumph sees Patel become the second driver in history to secure three consecutive victories at the iconic Ugandan event (2024-2026) following in the tyre tracks of fellow Kenyan Manvir Baryan ( 2017-2019).

Ironically, Patel’s campaign had nearly unravelled on Friday after power steering troubles cost him valuable time. But the Kenyan mounted a spirited charge in Saturday’s latter stages, clawing his way back into contention before seizing control when Vohra’s misfortune struck.

Vohra reflected on what had been a near-perfect rally.

“We were going really well. By the time we had a mechanical failure, we had a lead of eight minutes,” said Vohra. “But about two kilometres to the end of SS10, the prop shaft just blew.”

“It was a freak failure. We had to stop. It was like a literal bomb when that prop shaft blew.”

Still, the Kenyan remained philosophical, acknowledging that unpredictability is part of the brutal nature of rallying.

“It’s rallying. An eight-minute lead reduced to nothing, it’s just rallying,” he said.

Patel tightened his grip at the ARC summit with 83 point, while Vohra is second with 66 points. Aakif Virani is third with 60 points.

Patel had already fired an early warning shot in his pursuit of a third African title during the season-opening WRC Safari Rally in March.

There, the Kenyan dominated proceedings in 4:26:54.6 ahead of Virani, who clocked 4:43:06.7.

Vohra completed an all-Kenyan podium sweep in 4:46:47.1.

Meanwhile, debutant Jasmeet “Iceman” Chana also endured mechanical troubles and could only drag his machine home in fifth place (2:16:02).

“We have had a rough start from day one. First we broke two drive shafts and we decided to continue. We dropped back a lot,” said Chana.

“The first two stages on day two were good but, unfortunately, we lost power steering and again drove one stage without power steering. We came back to the service park to fix it but it was too late. We had dropped a lot of time.”

Despite the setbacks, Chana remains determined to return stronger next season.

“I’d like to come back and prove a point.”

Paraplegic driver Nikhil Sachania alongside navigator Deep Patel finished in 2:19:21.

Deep was delighted that the pair successfully completed the demanding two-day rally.

“The two days we have had here in Uganda have been amazing. The course was very difficult — not as difficult as the Safari — but definitely rougher than what we have been used to in Uganda,” he said.