2026 KCB NRC Season So Far
By Mwambazi Lawrence
The 2026 KCB National Rally Championship is only two rounds old, but it already feels like we’ve watched an entire season squeezed into a few weekends. There has been speed, dust, broken parts, surprise heroes, comeback stories and enough drama to keep every service park conversation alive until Christmas. The championship kicked off in Mbale with the MPU Mbale Rally, where drivers arrived looking confident, mechanics arrived looking hopeful and co-drivers arrived wondering whether their drivers had spent the off-season practicing or simply telling everyone they had.
The roads around Budaka and Mbale welcomed competitors the way a strict school headmaster welcomes late students with absolutely no mercy.Some crews discovered speed immediately. Others discovered mechanical problems immediately. A few discovered both at the same time.
One man who seemed completely unbothered by the passage of time was former National Rally Champion Moses Lumala. After almost twenty years away from active rallying, many expected him to take it easy. Instead, Lumala climbed into his Ford Fiesta NRC Proto and started driving like he had only been away for twenty days. Alongside Cedric Buzabo, he stunned the rally fraternity with an incredible second-place finish. Watching Lumala fly through the stages was like watching an old teacher return to class and score higher marks than all the students.
If there was one car attracting more attention than a celebrity at a wedding, it was the brand-new Skoda N5 of Musa Ssegaabwe and Mathias Kiyega. Everywhere it went, heads turned. The car was quick, aggressive and looked ready to challenge for victories. The crew backed up the hype with speed on the stages and appeared set for a brilliant result before a stewards’ inquiry changed the story. Rally fans quickly learned another important lesson: sometimes the stopwatch isn’t your biggest enemy the regulations are.
Kevin Bebeto also began a new chapter after switching to a Mitsubishi Evo 9. Like many drivers introducing a new car, there were moments of promise and moments that probably caused his mechanics to suddenly develop headaches. The result may not have been perfect, but the potential was obvious.
Meanwhile, Stefano Valeri quietly arrived, quietly drove and then quietly stood on the podium. Sometimes the loudest statement in rallying is made by saying absolutely nothing and letting the stopwatch do the talking.
At the front, Hassan Alwi Jr and Musa Nsubuga treated the Mbale Rally like a business trip. They arrived, did their job, avoided unnecessary drama and left with maximum points. Their Ford Fiesta Proto looked perfectly at home on the eastern roads as they controlled the rally from start to finish.
Defending champion Ronald Sebuguzi, however, experienced one of rallying’s most painful traditions. Just when everything seems to be going well, a mechanical part suddenly decides it would rather retire than continue working. The defendingchampion’s headache became the mechanic’s headache, which eventually became everyone’s headache.
In the 2WD category, Mansoor Lubega and Kenneth Kavuma delivered a measured performance to secure victory. While others chased every second available, Mansoor seemed to understand one simple truth: you cannot win from the back of a recovery truck.
Away from the competition, Mbale once again proved why rallying remains one of Uganda’s most loved sports. Fans packed the stages in huge numbers. Some climbed trees. Some stood on rooftops. Others somehow found viewing points that looked accessible only to mountain goats. Then came the event everyone had been waiting for.
The Shell V-Power Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally.
Uganda’s biggest motorsport event returned with 65 entries and a field packed with regional stars. The country’s best drivers were joined by elite crews from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and beyond.
The atmosphere was electric.
The competition was fierce.
The roads were rough.
And the rally gods were fully awake.
The Kenyan contingent arrived looking particularly dangerous. Karan Patel, Samman Vohra, Jasmeet Chana, Ahmed Huwel, Aakif Virani and Nikhil Sachania all came ready for battle. During shakedown, Samman Vohra immediately showed his intentions by setting the fastest time ahead of fellow countryman Karan Patel. Uganda’s Yasin Nasser was also right in the mix, giving local fans plenty to cheer about. But before the rally had even properly started, the drama arrived.
Burundi’s Mohammad Rashanali rolled his Subaru just one kilometre into shakedown. Kevin Bebeto and Lawrence Mwambazi fought over-revving issues and broken shafts. Sameer Nanji and Zaib Azhar introduced a tree to the front of their Subaru in a rather expensive meeting. Fortunately for them, rally mechanics are a special breed of human beings. Give them enough tools, enough determination and just enough sleep deprivation, and they can perform miracles that would impress surgeons. Then Oscar Ntambi and Aine Sodo encountered technical setbacks.
When the rally finally got underway, it delivered everything fans wanted.
Fast battles.
Changing fortunes.
Mechanical tension.
And enough dust to start a small desert.
Samman Vohra and Drew Sturrock looked unstoppable. Stage after stage they maintained control and appeared destined for victory. Then, with the finish almost in sight, rallying did what rallying does best. It broke hearts.
A failed prop shaft on the penultimate stage instantly transformed a dream weekend into a painful lesson about motorsport. One tiny component changed the entire outcome of the event. As Vohra’s hopes faded, Karan Patel and Tauseef Khan seized their opportunity. Despite earlier power steering troubles, the Kenyan crew stormed to victory and added another prestigious title to their growing collection. Meanwhile Uganda’s Yasin Nasser and Ali Katumba delivered a superb performance to finish on the overall podium against some of Africa’s best crews.
Within the NRC battle, Randeep Singh Birdi and Enock Olinga were in a league of their own. Their Ford Fiesta Proto looked perfectly suited to the western Uganda terrain as they controlled the category from start to finish.
The 2WD battle produced another entertaining contest, with Julius Semambo and Diana Nagawa emerging victorious. Mansoor Lubega recovered from gearbox troubles to salvage third place, proving that sometimes a podium earned through survival feels just as good as a victory.
In the CRC category, Geoffrey Munyegera and Saul Musoke claimed victory while Doreen Asiimwe continued her consistent championship charge and the dust settled on Mbarara and Kiruhura, the championship standings began taking shape.
Hassan Alwi Jr leads the NRC standings with 118points, but the chasing pack remains dangerously close. Every point matters. Every stage matters. Every finish matters. Because in rallying, championships are not won by the fastest driver alone. They are won by the driver who can be fast while convincing every nut, bolt, shaft, gearbox, turbo and differential to cooperate for an entire season.
As the championship heads toward the next round in Greater Masaka organized by the Southern Motor Club, crews are already preparing for another battle. Mechanics are tightening bolts. Drivers are studying onboard videos. Co-drivers are updating pace notes. And somewhere in a dark corner of a workshop, a gearbox is probably planning its next act of betrayal.
The 2026 KCB National Rally Championship is alive, unpredictable and completely impossible to forecast. Exactly the way rally fans like it.
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