The Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally 2026 starts tomorrow, Friday, after a packed Thursday of free practice, qualifying stage, shakedown, and a ceremonial start at Lake View Resort in Mbarara.
Rally traffic rolls out of Lake View Resort on Friday morning before a 31.71km transport road section to remote Service A In and Out at Mwesigwa.
SS1 Charles Muhangi 1 (17.94km) revs off at 9:40am. The stage honours Muhangi, the legendary Ugandan who won the African Rally Championship in 1999. His long-standing record as Uganda’s only ARC champion was broken last year when Yasin Nasser sealed the 2025 continental title at the season-closing ARC Mkwawa Rally in Tanzania.
After SS1, crews tackle the 20.1km SS2 Kaguta 1, then refuel before SS3 Ankole Cow 1 (18.02km). A regroup leads into midday Service B at Mwesigwa Resort. The 2.28km Rukaari SSS Track 1 and its repeat run will close Friday’s itinerary of five stages. Day one offers 60km of competitive mileage within a total Leg1 route of 204.23km.
Saturday is the longest day with 127.92km competitive and a 362.99km total. After Saturday’s Parc Fermé, cars proceed to Service D at Mwesigwa Resort before the 6.29km SS5 Robert Rukaari test and a repeat of Kaguta (SS6). SS7 is the second pass of Ankole Cow, followed by Service E and SS8 Charles Muhangi after refuel.
SS9 Mama (21.54km) leads into midday Service F at Mwesigwa. Third runs of Kaguta and Ankole Cow serve as SS10 and SS11. SS12 Shell V-Power Stage (6.19km) is the official Power Stage, awarding bonus championship points to the fastest crews.
In all, Pearl 2026 covers 188.39km of competitive stages, 378.83km of liaison, and a rally total of 567.22km. Thursday’s qualifying stage sets Friday’s start order for ARC cars, with the fastest driver choosing road position.
The event is round two of the FIA African Rally Championship for drivers and navigators. WRC Safari Rally Kenya opened the 2026 ARC season, with Rwanda and Tanzania set to host rounds three and four.
This year’s ARC is without the iconic Rallye Bandama of Ivory Coast and Zambia International Rally. Rally of South Africa has also not featured on the FIA continental series for years.
ARC Entry Highlights
The ARC category has drawn 23 cars across ARC, ARC2, ARC3 and ARC4. ARC4 features the mother-daughter crew of Tinashe Gatimu and Caroline Gatimu, plus local pair Godfrey Nsereko/John Bosco Musisi in a Toyota Etios.
ARC3, reserved for M-Sport prepared Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars, includes Kenyans Nikhil Sachania/Deep Patel and Indians Naveen Puligilla/Musa Sheriff. Sheriff is a multiple Indian navigators champion.
Top ARC seeds are two-time champion Karan Patel, defending champion Yasin Nasser, ARC Junior champion Samman Vohra, Aakif Virani and Jasmeet Chana. Aakif and Jasmeet make their Uganda debuts in Mbarara, the country’s “milk and honey capital.” Organizers say this year’s Pearl has the largest foreign entry in recent times.
ARC Standings After Safari Rally Kenya
Patel arrives in Mbarara leading the ARC after finishing as the top ARC driver on Safari Rally Kenya.
The result broke his streak of retirements on Safari and put him at the head of the continental standings.
Aakif Virani holds second on the ARC leaderboard after Safari, with Kenya’s Samman in third and Jasmeet in fourth.. Uganda’s Oscar Ntambi sits just behind the top four.
The event is also part of Uganda National Rally Championhisp (NRC) where local crews are fighting for a share of points in the National category.
