Kenyan National Rally Champion Karan Patel is confident of adding more silverware to his trophy cabinet ahead of the forthcoming 2023 Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally slated for September 22-24 in Kigali and Bugesera.

The 2023 edition of the car race will be hosted by the Rwanda Automobile Club, and it is a 348.18 km stretch which has six stages.

Patel returns in Rwanda to defend the title he won in 2022, overcoming stiff competition from Zambian ace Leroy Gomes.

The Kenyan, who was driving Ford Fiesta R5 with his co-driver Khan Tauseef, managed to win the race after covering a distance of 171.29km in 01 hour 19 minutes and 40.3 seconds.

Prior to the forthcoming race, Patel insists he is not daunted by meeting top drivers who will also be participating in the event in Rwanda as he hopes to win the ultimate race.

“We are up against top drivers across Africa, and they are all battling for the top spot. Our aim is to win each of the remaining legs, close the gap with the log leader, and finally bring the ARC title to Kenya,” Patel told Kenyan website Citizen.

Kenyan driver Karan Patel’s car during the competition in Bugesera District on Sunday, September 25, 2022. File

The Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally is a flagship event of Rwanda Motorsport Club. It is an event of the African Rally Championship which is run under the auspices of the International Federation of Automobiles (FIA).

The event is run in compliance with the FIA International Sporting Code and its appendices, the 2023 FIA Regional Rally Sporting Regulations, the Rwandan National Sporting Regulations, 2023 FIA African Rally Championship regulations which comply with the FIA regulations and the Supplementary Regulations for this event.

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The race will start on Friday, September 22 at the Kigali Convention Centre and conclude Sunday, September 24 in Bugesera.

This year’s edition will attract 28 drivers including 22 national drivers and six who are battling for points in the penultimate round of the African Rally Championship.