Kenyan rally driver Karan Patel and his co-driver, Tauseef Khan, were on Sunday crowned champions of the 2026 FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) after winning the season-ending Serengeti Rally in Tanzania. Driving a Škoda Fabia Rally2 for KCB Racing Team, Patel completed the Morogoro-based rally in a cumulative time of 2 hours, 2 minutes and 37.8 seconds, finishing 33.7 seconds ahead of Tanzanian driver Manveer Birdi and co-driver Zubayr Piredina, who clocked 2:03:11.5. Uganda's Yasin Nasser completed the overall podium in third. The victory capped a remarkable season for Patel, who won all four rounds of the 2026 continental championship—the Safari Rally in Kenya, the Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally, Rwanda's Mountain Gorilla Rally and the season finale in Tanzania. The title is Patel's third African championship, following his previous successes in 2022 and 2023. He becomes only the fourth driver in the competition's 45-year history to win at least three continental titles, joining Zambia's eight-time champion Satwant Singh, Ivory Coast's Alain Ambrosino and fellow Kenyan Manvir Baryan. ALSO READ:Motor sport: Virani withdraws from Tanzania's ARC final Khan also secured the 2026 African navigators' championship. Virani's withdrawal settles title race Patel's championship was effectively secured before the competitive stages of the Tanzania finale began, following the withdrawal of his closest challenger, fellow Kenyan Aakif Virani, and co-driver Zahir Shah. Arrow Racing Team announced that it had decided to withdraw from the final round in order to consolidate its second-place position in the overall championship standings. Virani had entered the final round as the only driver with a mathematical chance of challenging Patel for the title. His withdrawal gave Patel an unassailable lead before the rally's competitive action got underway. Despite the championship being settled, Patel showed his pace in Tanzania by winning Friday's 2.40km Mkwawa qualifying stage in 1 minute and 58.1 seconds, beating Birdi by 0.6 seconds. ALSO READ:Rwandan drivers to miss final ARC round in Tanzania Tanzania closes 2026 ARC season The Serengeti Rally, held from October 2–4 around Morogoro and the Tanzania Forest Services' Shamba la Miti area, marked the fourth and final round of the 2026 ARC season. Birdi finished second overall, while Nasser completed the podium. Tanzania's Ahmed Huwel and co-driver Roheet Solanki finished fourth in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. The final round also had implications for other championship categories. Uganda's Oscar Ntambi secured the ARC2 title after Rwanda's Christian Kanangire did not enter the season finale. For Patel and Khan, the victory in Tanzania provided a fitting conclusion to a dominant campaign, as they combined the continental titles with victory in the final rally of the season.
