DAVITE Giancarlo believes he can oust African champion James Whyte when the continent’s top rally drivers regroup in April’s KCB Safari rally.

The two-time national rally champion finished 27 seconds behind the Zimbabwean in ARC’s opening round-the Kobil rally of Tanzania, which climaxed on Sunday but believes he can eclipse the African champion in Kenya.

"My target is to win the African title but to do this; I need to put together a run of good results.”

Giancarlo, who was driving a yellow Subaru Impreza N11, intends to buy a new gearbox for his machine ahead of the Safari rally.

"To beat the best, you have to make sure you have a car in good shape and ready to go,” he said.

Giancarlo however has utmost respect for Whyte. "He is very fast behind the wheel. He was always 20-25 seconds ahead of me, which is a lot of time in racing,” 

Giancarlo, who was navigated by Sylvia Vindevogel, clocked 2 hours, one minute and 30 seconds while his country-mate Fitidis Christakis, who was navigated by Guy Dekelver, claimed the final podium slot after returning an overall time of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 57 seconds.

After the first round, Whyte leads the ARC charts with 39 points while Giancarlo and Fitidis follow in second and third slots with 28 and 21 points respectively.

KCB Safari rally, slated for April 2-4, is the second event on the 2010 African Rally Championship (ARC).

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