Uganda, May 7 -- Thursday's qualifying stage of the Shell V-Power Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally was only supposed to confirm the starting order for the weekend but it offered a lot more.

The 'Shakedown' as it known among rally folklore may have minimal significance to the final outcome but it can also deflate hope in this critical round of the Africa Rally Championship.

For the Kenyan crew of Samman Vohra and Drew Sturrock in a Skoda Fabia R5, the start was critical as they finished the 4.66km qualifying stage and 3.77km shakedown at Mwesigwa Resort in Mbarara.

Winning in a time of three minutes and 47.3 seconds, Vohra now holds a 6.4 second lead over countrymate Karan Patel and Tauseef Khan (Skoda Fabia), two-time winners of the Pearl ...