Kampala: Motor rally duo, Adam Rauf and his navigator George Semakula have headed to Tanzania to take on the Mkwawa Superior Pure Drinking Water of Iringa challenge.
The competition will take place this weekend in the coastal town of Iringa.
The duo head across the border with only the first round of the NRC in Mbarara up their sleeves —they didn’t finish the race.
They haven’t had much success on Uganda soil. Their attempt to participate in NRC 3 last month came to naught when their EVO X suffered a clutch problem on its way to the ceremonial start. They could not find and fit the right spare in time for the start of the rally in Masaka. They joined the spectators.
Adam Rauf, however, is a regular participant in Tanzania which he considers home away from home and has on the various occasions posted impressive stage times before suffering mechanical issues. He hopes for the best this time round.
“Our target is to win this event, and bring glory to our sponsors,” Rauf said when contacted on Phone. “We shall be doing events in both Uganda and Tanzania this season and this is one of them.”
It will be his 6th Appearance on Tanzanian Soil where his best finish is 6th place during the ARC round of TZ in 2017.
The Iringa Rally has attracted 15 crews including Moses Matovu of DRT who will be calling notes for Dharam Pandya, who also won the previous round of the Tanzanian National Championship.
Adam Rauf/George Semakula remains the only foreign crew participating in this event. Suffice to note, the crew will only be adding seat time and foreign participation experience under their belt as any points they gather in this event will not add to the National Championship point standing at zero after one failed attempt in NRC 1.
“Our sponsors are Tanzania based have asked us to join the rest of the other crews they sponsor to form a strong team in this rally, our chances are really good,” said George, the navigator, just before they departed for Tanzania.
In his 5 years of competition Rauf has driven a Subaru N4, N10, EVO X, EVO 9 with 1 stage win to his name during Mbarara Rally in 2015. Rauf has had on and off appearances on the local scene and exhibiting some good skills and performances.
He is considered a quick driver and his partnership with George Semakula make them a daring pair that is believed will be a force to reckon with if they can make some consistent appearances in rallies.
Mr Aron Nsamba who navigated Rauf when he won the Kyoguranyi Stage in 2015 said, “Rauf is a very capable guy and if the car holds, he will definitely get a podium position.”
