It was a moment of sadness on Sunday afternoon in the Ruparelia Rally team camp after a senior driver Rajiv Ruparelia survived a terrible accident that saw him throwing away the lead in the Kaliro Sugar Rally that ended today.
Rajiv who started the Sunday rally on top after winning day one of the competition could not finish the second phase of Day two, leaving Ponsiano Lwakataka to win the race, with Hassan Alwi taking the second spot.
According to witnesses, the unfortunate incident on Rajiv’s side happened today morning in the first of the five sections when he crashed into a ditch before getting a mechanical breakdown that forced him out of the game.
One excited fan of Rajiv said, “It’s unbelievable that senior driver is out of the game. His bombardier (car) disappointed him after crashing into a ditch but the good news is that Rajiv Ruparelia Rally Team (RRRT) crew is okay. The driver is fine.”
The two-day rally was split between Iganga and Kaliro districts with a total distance of 276 Kilometers. 124 Kilometers were competitive while 151 Kilometers were covered in stages.
Under his “Rajiv Rally Team-Double Trouble” Rajiv who is navigated by Enock Olinga last year won Kabalega Rally competitions that were held in Hoima district after beating legendary drivers like Duncan Mubiru, Ronald Sebuguzi, Arthur Blick Junior, Alwi Hassan, Fred Busulwa among others.
The above was not the first win for Rajiv, He won the Federation of Motorsport Clubs of Uganda (FMU) 2019 Autocross event held on 23rd June 2019 in Kayunga, where he finished at an impressive time of 05:18.5, ahead of the experienced Lwakataka who came in second place at a time of 05:22.2. Ronald Sebuguzi came third while Arthur Blick Jr settled for the fourth position.
The celebrated rally driver also won the Auto Cross Rally in Kapeeka in 2019, again marking an impressive third outing in his ‘RR Double Trouble’ team in his VW Polo Proto, which was imported from Poland.
Rajiv also has experience in other fields like Quads, motocross bikes and buggies as well as tarmac racing not forgetting that he is a furious lion when it comes to golf competitions with skills that have ranked him higher than other rallyists.
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