Uganda, May 6 -- The 2026 Pearl Africa rally revs off today in the western Uganda district of Mbarara.

Drivers will this Thursday morning do a 4.66km qualifying stage followed by a 3.77km shakedown at Mwesigwa Resort in Mbarara.

This will be for registered Africa Rally Championship drivers and a few selected national drivers.

Aaron Nsamba, the deputy Clerk of the course, told Daily Monitor that "the aim of this qualifying stage is to give starting positions to ARC drivers."

Among the drivers who will test the Ugandan rally terrain are Ahmed Huwel (Tanzania), Jasmeet Chana, and Aakif Virani - both from Kenya.

Huwel will drive a Toyota Yaris Rally 2 while Chana will be in a Ford Fiesta R5.

Chan, the Kenyan national champion, is among ...