Former national rally champion Rudy Cantanhede is the man to beat in the three-day Irushanwa- Des 1000 Collines rally, some of the top drivers in the race have admitted.

Uganda’s rally maestro Jas Mangat, new national champion Davite Giancarlo and Tony Saegerman all paid respect to the Belgian during the race’s official launch on Thursday at Bralirwa’s headquarters in Gikondo.

Mangat, who finished second to Cantanhede in this year’s Rwanda Mountain Gorilla race concedes that even with his new machine (Subaru Impreza N12), Cantanhede, is still ahead of the pack.

"There is no doubt about Rudy’s potential. We all know that he is fast but I’m looking forward to the challenge,” the soft spoken 28-year-old told Times Sport. Local rivals, Giancarlo and Saegerman also tipped Cantanhede and Mangat as clear favourites.

"They are top drivers and clearly ahead of the pack,” the pair said. However, Cantanhede is not letting himself get carried away by these comments.

He said, "This race is a little bit different. It’s going to be very challenging because it is a long race and with the rains, it is a bit unpredictable.”

After selling off his state-of-the art Subaru to Giancarlo shortly before relocating to Belgium three months ago, Cantanhede has switched to his reserve 2003 model Subaru Impreza.

"I believe it is a good car and I’m using this race to test it,” said Cantanhede, who will be navigated by his younger brother Bruno Cantanhede.

Last year, Cantanhede won this race en route winning back to back national championship titles. 

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