Triumphant Karan Patel ends Africa rally season with third career ARC title in Tanzania

Karan Patel completed the 2026 FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) season on a high, sealing his third career continental title with a perfect four-from-four winning record at the 2026 ARC Serengeti Rally of Tanzania on Sunday.

Navigated by Tauseef Khan in a Skoda Fabia Rally2, Patel won in Tanzania to add to his earlier victories at the Safari Rally Kenya, Pearl of Africa Rally in Uganda and Mountain Gorilla Rally in Rwanda. He clinched the crown before the start of Tanzanian leg following the withdrawal of compatriot Aakif Virani, who was the only driver with an outside mathematical chance.

Karan from KCB Racing team won the African title in 2022, 2023 and 2026. He becomes only the fourth driver in ARC history to win three or more titles, joining an elite club that includes Ivory Coast's Alain Ambrosino (1983, 1986, 1987), Zambia's record eight-time champion Satwant Singh and fellow Kenyan Manvir Baryan (2017, 2018, 2019).

Karan won in Tanzania with a cumulative time of 02:02:37.8 to claim 30 maximum points and an additional four on the power stage to close the season on final points total of 152.

He was followed by Tanzanian ace Manveer Birdi navigated by Zubayr Piredina in an ex-Samman Vohra Skoda Fabia Evo. Birdi finished second, 33.7 seconds behind Patel with a time of 02:03:11.5.

Ugandan Yasin Nasser with Ali Katumba in a Ford Fiesta MK II finished third overall ahead of Tanzania’s Ahmed Huwell/Roheet Solanki in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2.

Further down the order, Oscar Ntambi/Pius Luggya in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X and Nsereko Godfrey/Musisi Bosco in a Toyota Etios completed the provisional top six.

The bonus points were decided on the final Power Stage, where points are awarded on a scale of 5-4-3-2-1 for the five fastest crews.

Local hero Birdi won the Power Stage in 05:43.7 minutes to bag 5 bonus points.

FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS – 2026 ARC
1. Karan Patel        (KEN)      152 pts
2. Aakif Virani        (KEN)      85 pts
3. Jasmeet Chana   (KEN)      67 pts
4. Samman Vohra   (KEN)      66 pts

ARC - PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION - SERENGETI RALLY OF TANZANIA 2026

1. No 102 - Karan Patel (KEN)/Tauseef Khan (KEN) - Skoda Fabia – Total Time: 02:02:37.8

2. No 7 - Manveer Birdi (TZA)/Zubayr Piredina (TZA) - Skoda Fabia Evo – Total Time: 02:03:11.5

3. No 101 - Yasin Nasser (UGA) / Ali Katumba (UGA) - Ford Fiesta MK II – Total Time: 02:10:28.6

4. No 1 - Ahmed Huwel (TZA)/Roheet Solanki (TZA) - Toyota Yaris GR – Total Time: 02:10:33.2

5. No 105 - Oscar Ntambi (UGA)/Pius Luggya (UGA) - Mitsubishi Lancer E – Total Time: 02:32:28.7

6. No 107 - Nsereko Godfrey (UGA)/ Musisi Bosco (UGA) - Toyota Etios – Total Time: 02:45:47.7