Ugandan driver Wilbert Pole Pole withstood pressure from Kenya’s Steve Mwangi to win the 33rd edition of the Rallye Des Milles Collines that took place over the weekend in Nyamata, Bugesera District.

Navigated by Joseph Bongole in a RC2/N4 Mitsubishi, the pair finished first with a time of 1:35:15 beating Mwangi and Jonathan Kosgei driving a Subaru, by 22 seconds. The one-day event covered a total distance of 1655.72km and had nine stages.

The Ugandan driver told Times Sport that he is happy to have won this race for the first time and thanked the organisers, Unity Rally Team of Rwanda, for good hospitality.

"There was pressure from the other drivers but we managed to win by mere seconds, we love racing in Rwanda because the organisers cater for the competitors by giving them what is necessary to take part in the rally. I will always come back and race in Rwanda,” Pole Pole.

Kenya’s Alex Lairanga and Sammy Nyorri finished third and fourth, respectively.

Only Rwandan driver, Fabrice Nyridandi, in a Toyota Celica, managed to finish the race and came in fifth place.

Jean Claude Gakwaya and Jean Claude Mugabo, who led in the competitive Super Sections, dropped out of the race a few kilometres towards the finishline after their car suffered a turbo failure.

Out of the eleven drivers that started, only five managed to complete the race. Genese Semana (Rwanda), Osman Abdullahi (Kenya), John Nganga (Kenya), Geoffrey Nsamba (Uganda) and Gilbert Balondemu (Uganda) all dropped out.

The 2015 ‘Rallye des Milles Collines’ winner Roshanali Mohamed from Burundi was not around to defend his title because he was competing in the Rally de Burundi that was taking place on the same weekend in Bujumbura.

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