Carl 'Flash' Tundo wins Rally of Tanzania to extend his lead in ARC series

FILE: Carl 'Flash' Tundo, rally driver. [Standard Sports]

Kenya's Carl 'Flash' Tundo clocked 2:07:36 to win the third leg of the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) series in Tanzania on Sunday evening.

His compatriot Karan Patel emerged second in 2:10:35 as Jeremy Wahome, also of Kenya, finished fifth in 2:22:58.

"Congratulations to Tundo and his navigator Tim Jessop for winning the 2021 Rally of Tanzania," Tundo's Minti Motorsport team posted on their social media pages after the sweet victory.

"Thank you Tanzania for being a wonderful host," the statement added.

On his way to the throne, Tundo bagged five of the ten stages with his VW Polo R5 road warrior.

The rest of the zones were won by Patel, a promising speedster driving a Ford Fiesta R5.

By winning the third leg of the ARC series dubbed the Rally of Tanzania, Tundo extended his lead in the continental series whose last three gongs are well kept by another Kenyan, Manvir Baryan.

Tundo triumphed in the ARC second leg held in Naivasha in April, dubbed Equator Rally, that was used as a test run for the WRC Safari Rally held at the same region in June that attracted a record 848 million viewers across the globe.

It was at the Safari Rally that Tejveer Rai of Kabras Sugar got injured after his VW Polo R5 nosedived before rolling severally to a halt.

Rai is currently receiving treatment and will be back in the competition soon.

Kenyans pour on social media to praise Tundo, who is a multi-Kenya National Rally Championship winner, for the continental victory in Tanzania.

"Thank you Tundo for winning another ARC event, you raised Kenyan flag higher," noted one Patrick Githinji, a

Motorsport enthusiast.

"I'm sending my warmest congratulations to you all the way from Bujumbura," said Jeff Freelancer, a journalist based in Burundi.

"Across Africa, we shall roar, Team Minti Motorsport is setting footprints that will be hard to match in years to come. Well done," wrote Robin Bains.

Tundo has been unmatched locally since he upgraded from a Mitsubishi Evolution 10 to VW Polo R5 courtesy of Minti Motorsport.

Patel has also been a force to reckoned with in his Ford Fiesta R5 while Kenya's trio of Wahome, Hamza Anwar and McRae Kimathi who are all sponsored by Safaricom and Kenya Airways are also gradually rising to the African throne with their Ford Fiesta R3 machines.

The trio are part of the prestigious FIA Young Star Rally Program that will see them hone their rallying skills across Europe in the next three years.