Nasser glad to have gained exposure
Yasin Nasser (L) and co-driver Ali Katumba. PHOTO | JOHN BATANUDDE
Yasin Nasser and his co-driver Ali Katumba have made so many gains over the past four seasons that included winning a national rally title two years ago.
That success gave him the drive and confidence to go for the African title this year. Ultimately, Nasser fell short, finishing second in the final Africa Rally Championship (ARC) standings.
The Ugandan crew (pictured) leapfrogged South Africa’s Guy Botteril on the final leg on the latter’s home turf over the weekend after the ‘homeboy’ failed to finish the TRACN4 Rally.
The national title there was won by Theune Joubert who also won this event.
With African champion Carl Tundo (Kenya) skipping the final round, Boterill was the only competitor in the continental finale.
He painfully waved goodbye at home after the left front ball joint of his Toyota Etios developed a fault on stage five, losing 15 minutes and 35.7 seconds.
That automatically lifted Nasser from third into second on 99 points. Tundo finished on 120 points while Botteril was third with 73.
“As a crew, we have tested our levels of competition against the continent’s best and I am sure my team has learnt from the exposure,” said Nasser after finishing the two-day event held in the mountainous areas of Dullstroom.
The MOIL-sponsored crew will now wait to be crowned by the Confederation of African Countries in Motorsport (CACMS) at the glamorous annual prize-giving ceremony in Monaco.
