Davite Giancarlo kept his impressive season on the wheels with a stunning victory at Nyirangarama Sprint Rally 2025 which took place in Rulindo District on Saturday, September 6. Davite and his co-pilot Davite Matteo, driving Mitsubishi Evo X, overcame nine other drivers who were in contention to claim the race after covering a 72.2-kilometer course in the roads of Gashenyi, Tare and Karambo in 45 minutes and 32 seconds. Four cars were unable to finish the race which was happening for the fourth time since 2019 due to various problems including mechanical issues. Genese Semana and Salvatore Dusingizimana were among the 10 participants, but their car was unable to finish any of the seven stages of the race, including three in Gashenyi, two in Karambo and two more in Tare. The third zone played at hill of Tare saw the Peugeot driven by Jacques Hakizimana and Ish Kevin Semana alias Ish Kevin also exit the race, while the Subaru Impreza driven by Eric Gakwaya and Aurore Kayibanda and that of Brian Murengezi and Djamila Niwemugore, both exiting the fourth lap in Karambo. Ferdinand Rutabingwa, the race director, claimed that many cars failed to finish the race because, among other reasons, the roads were in so bad conditions that only drivers who carefully used the map managed to finish. “It was a race that required more technique than running, it was a race that required understanding the reading of the ‘co-pilot’ map because there were some bad roads.” Other drivers who finished the race include Christian Kanangire and Kevin Mujiji whose Subaru Impreza emerged second with a time of 57 minutes and nine seconds. They could have finished six minutes earlier had they not been handed a six-minute penalty over a late start in the first section. The Subaru Impreza driven by Fabrice Yoto and Regis Tuyishime finished fourth with a time of 59 minutes and four seconds. Queen Kalimpinya and Olivier Ngabo, also driving a Subaru Impreza, finished fourth with a time of 1 hour, 3 minutes and 34 seconds, while Gratien Rutabingwa and Irene Munyaneza, who were driving Peugeot, completed the top five. The Rwandan rally championship will now shift to Southern Province for the Huye Rally which is scheduled for October 24-25.
