FIA Rally in Uganda

This is a cop sitting on the roof of my truck. He vaulted up there while I was still inside... the AK-47 told me not to complain

Jeff got word that the FIA East Africa Rally Championship was going to be coming to Uganda over the weekend, and I decided to check it out, so into the truck for four hours of driving with high hopes. It was pretty cool compared to other rallies I’ve attended… none of this “tow your car to the track” business. Nope – when I first arrived in the city there were Rally cars trying to drift around the first traffic circle to a throng of screaming boda drivers and cheering cops, engines pinning off the rev limiter with no mufflers. Later, driving down the main road in the city and pulling out to pass a slow fuel truck I had to quickly duck back in my lane, or else be hit head-on by some crazy guy in a Subaru at full throttle.

 

So, it was a fun time. I didn’t get the greatest spot to sit and watch, and rain came and ruined the end of the day, and it took two hours just to get out of the stadium where the first stage was being held (actually the King’s palace grounds), and I got ripped off buying a fake program, only to be ripped off again buying an official program that was no better (I should have clued in when they spelled “race” as “rece” on the front cover), and I had an interesting run-in with some drunk fans. But honestly, I didn’t expect any different. Here’s a few pics.