Costa relishing ARC run

Costa‘s ARC run so far Kobil Rally of TanzaniaFinished 3rd –claiming six pointsKCB Safari rally (Kenya)Finished 8th – claiming one pointKCB Pearl of Africa rally (Uganda)Finished 4th – claiming five points ARC standings James Whyte (Zim) 28 ptsEmma Katto (Uga) 18Muna Singh (Zam) 18Oliver Costa (Rwa)12 Mohammed Essa (Zam) 9Davite Giancarlo (Rwa)4 Half way through the 2009 FIA African Rally Championship (ARC), Olivier Costa is contented with his run and enjoying every bit of it. The Rwandan rally ace, currently 4th on the ARC charts is without doubt enjoying the season of his career. After picking six ARC points in the opening round (Kobil Rally of Tanzania), Costa notched a point in the grueling KCB Safari rally dropping to fourth place in the process alongside Kenya’s Don Smith. However, his splendid run in the just ended KCB Pearl of Africa Uganda rally has taken his point tally to 12, six short of Emma Katto and Muna Singh both tied on 18 points in second and third place respectively. Speaking about his performance in Uganda, Costa said, “I think I had a good race given the nature of the roads (bad) and having a new co-driver.” Meanwhile, two-time African rally champion Muna Singh scored his first maximum points on the ARC over the weekend (KCB Pearl of Africa rally) to narrow down the gap to 10 points with Jamie Whyte, who tops the standings with 28 points. The performance was a good comeback for the Zambian speedster, who picked his first ARC points in the KCB safari rally after crushing out in Tanzania (Kobil rally of Tanzania). Although it may be a little too late for Davite Giancarlo to make a serious challenge for the ARC, the national rally champion has certainly revived his hopes as far as the inaugural KCB East African rally challenge is concerned. Giancarlo notched four ARC points after his fifth spot finish in Uganda. His co-driver Sylvia Vindevogel also emerged as the best female participant in the rally that was cut short after the tragic death of Riyaz Kurji. ARC action returns in July with the Zambia International Rally (July 3-5). Ends

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Costa relishing ARC run