Kenyan speedster Carl "Flash” Tundo hopes he can win the Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally (RMGR), and claim the Africa Rally Championship (ARC) 2021 before the last round.

The RMGR 2021, is the penultimate round of the African Rally Championship, an international automobile rally championship run under the auspices of the International Federation of Automobiles (FIA).

The RMGR rallying action started on Friday, October 22 with a qualifying round at Amahoro Stadium, and will continue with the competitive phase in Bugesera district.

Tundo goes into it as the leader of continental standings with 90 points.

South Africa’s Guy Botterill who is second in the standings has 73 points, trailing Tundo by 17 points.

This implies that if Tundo claims the RMGR, he will be declared the champion before the ultimate round that will take place later in South Africa.

Speaking in a press conference in Kigali during the launch event of the RMGR, Tundo expressed optimism for a good performance in Rwanda, and hoped that he can finish off the title quest from here.

"I'm looking forward to the rally. I think there will be fun. I guarantee I'm going to try to give my best. Hopefully we will do well," he said, adding that he hopes he can clinch the continental championship during this particular round.

In Bugesera, the rally will take place for two days (Saturday and Sunday) on closed roads in Gako, with 12 competitive stages covering a total distance of 195.4kilometres.

Speaking during the launch event of RMGR 2021, Christian Gakwaya, the President of the Rwanda Automobile Club (RAC), who are the organisers of the rally expressed gratitude that the competition is finally happening, despite Covid-19 inconveniences that had it postponed twice.

"As you know this event has been postponed twice. But finally, it is here," he said.

Meanwhile, 15 drivers are taking part in the RMGR: Giancarlo Davite (Rwanda), Kimathi McRae (Kenya), Guy Botterill (South Africa), Carl "Flash" Tundo (Kenya), Patel Karan (Kenya), Nasser Yasin (Uganda), Anwar Hamza (Kenya), Wahome Maxime (Kenya), Din Imtiaz (Burundi), Jean Claude Gakwaya (Rwanda),Elefterios Mitraros (Rwanda), Jean Jean Giesen (Rwanda),Adolphe Nshimiyimana (Rwanda), Christian Kanangire (Rwanda) and Felekeni Amigo Mayaka (Rwanda).