African rally championship contender Karan Patel has withdrawn from the weekend Pearl of Africa Rally.
The Pearl Rally is the third round of the African Rally Championship.
Patel and Tauseef Khan are the current leaders of the ARC leaderboard; six points ahead of Yasin Nasser.
The team made the decision to withdraw after recce on Wednesday.
“We have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the event, as the conditions impact the competitiveness and excitement of racing and pose high risk of significant damage to our car,” reads part of the release on the team’s Facebook page.
The weather conditions in this year’s edition are anticipated to be atrocious with rain pouring for long days this month.
The rally, which is the third round of the 2023 African Rally Championship, is scheduled to take place this weekend, from May 5 to May 7 in the Eastern parts of Uganda, specifically in Jinja district.
Patel, who drives a Ford Fiesta R5, struggled to conquer the muddy stages of the Pearl Rally last year, settling for second place behind Jas Mangat.
He was expected to have an intensive battle with Mangat this year, but his withdrawal means that the competition will be less fierce.
However, he was expected to be among the favorites this year, for the rally after winning his home event, the Equator Rally, last month, and leading the African Rally Championship.
With Patel out, the honours for ARC points remain for Yasin Nasser and Jas Mangat to take.
