Whyte to defend Uganda Rally title

Uganda where he will defend his KCB Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally title next weekend.
In the East African country, the veteran 50-year-old Zimbabwean driver will, not only be out to defend the KCB Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally title but will also, be aiming to topple fellow Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach from the top of the 2011 FIA African Rally Championship series’ Drivers’ Standings.
The KCB Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally, which is set to run from next Friday to Sunday is acting as the fifth round of the eight-round 2011 FIA ARC series, whose first four rounds were held in Zimbabwe in March, South Africa in April, Zambia in May and Kenya last month.
Three of the first four 2011 ARC series races in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zambia were all won by Zimbabwe’s motor rallying “whizzkid” Rautenbach.
The 26-year-old Rautenbach’s only dent in this year’s ARC series came in last month’s fourth round – the KCB Safari Rally of Kenya – where he was forced to settle for a disappointing sixth place, two behind his main rival Whyte who came fourth.
Although Whyte came fourth in Kenya, he was classified as the first ARC-registered driver home in his Subaru Impreza while Rautenbach was placed second.
And this saw Rautenbach maintaining his lead at the top of the ARC Drivers’ Standings with 93 points, 17 ahead of his nearest rival Whyte.
Rautenbach has, however, decided to skip next weekend’s KCB Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally as this event clashed with the Volkswagen Rally, which will be held in South Africa during the same weekend.
The Volkswagen Rally is the fifth round of this year’s eight-round South African Rally Championship series in which Rautenbach is also representing Zimbabwe.
Rautenbach is also the leader on the South African Rally Championship leaderboard and has indicated that he would like to consolidate his lead in this series by taking part and winning the Volkswagen Rally thus his decision to skip the KCB Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally.
But with Rautenbach opting out of the Ugandan event, it should give Whyte the chance to pounce and takeover the lead in the ARC series championship race.
Whyte needs nothing short of outright victory in Uganda next weekend in order for him to serve Rautenbach with an “eviction order” at the top of the ARC Drivers’ Standings.
A win for Whyte in Uganda will see him moving seven points clear of Rautenbach at the top of the standings with three rounds to go in this year’s ARC series in Tanzania, Rwanda and Madagascar.
Whyte was yesterday relishing the opportunity of taking full advantage of Rautenbach’s absence in Uganda next weekend where victory will see him shooting to the top of the standings for the first time this year.
The veteran driver said he was looking forward to taking part in the KCB Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally where, apart from aiming to topple Rautenbach off the perch of the ARC Drivers’ Standings, he will be out to score back-to-back victories in this event which he won in May last year.
“I’ve got to win in Uganda because victory there will put me seven points in front of Conrad (Rautenbach) with three rounds to go in the African championship.
“I’ve to make sure that I put everything in place and go out for an outright victory in Uganda as this will also open the way for me to score a historic hat-trick of victories in the ARC series,” said Whyte, the African motor rallying champion in 2009 and 2010.
Whyte is leaving no stone unturned in his quest to win the KCB Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally as he has already dispatched “an advance team” ahead of his participation in next weekend’s tough event in the East African country.
His trusted mechanic Lewis Bindu and his brother Ishmael Bindu left Harare on Thursday for Kampala, Uganda, by road with the Subaru Impreza that Whyte will use in the KCB Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally.
The Bindu brothers are expected to arrive in Kampala on Wednesday just in time for the start of the tough rally two days later.
Whyte, on the other hand, is scheduled to fly out to Uganda on Monday accompanied by the man who helped him to win the African motor rallying championship for two years in a row in 2009 and 2010 – his tried and trusted navigator Phil Archenoul.
The Zimbabwean driver said he will only decide on whether to take part in the last three rounds of the 2011 ARC series in Tanzania, Rwanda and Madagascar after competing in Uganda next weekend.
After Uganda, the ARC series will move to Tanzania for its sixth round – the Kobil Rally of Tanzania – which is scheduled for the weekend of September 2 to 4.
The KCB Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally, which is pencilled for the weekend of September 30 to October 2, will be the penultimate round of the 2011 ARC series whose last leg – the Total Rally International Madagascar – is scheduled for November 27-27 in the Indian Ocean island.