International rallying co-driver Moses Matovu narrowly missed out on a podium finish on last weekend’s Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally when he co-drove fellow Ugandan Emmanuel Katto to fifth overall and fourth registered driver in the three day long event.

The lead up to this, the final round of the 2009 FIA African Rally Championship, was not ideal, with Moses having to lend a hand to ensure the Tommi Makinen Rallying prepared Subaru Impreza N14 was ready to rally, and thus the team missed out on the opportunity to recce the special stages. This put Emmanuel and Moses on a back foot and when the car suffered with suspension problems the team focused on securing a finish, rather than challenging for the win.

On Sunday morning Moses even took the wheel of the 300 bhp Subaru for two stages and was pleased to set times comparable with rallying legend Katto on roads he had never seen before!

The Zimbabwe Challenge Rally certainly lives up to its name every year. And 2009 was no exception. We struggled with setup issues and weren’t helped by having to borrow pace notes which were in a different format to our own. The gesture by the other competitors for offering us their personal notes was fantastic and I thank everyone for all of their assistance.

We ended the rally tantalisingly close to securing our third podium finish of the season but at least we scored another finish which helped both Emmanuel and I take third in the title race.

Whilst the 2009 FIA African Rally Championship might now be over Moses still has a busy period ahead of him. The popular Ugandan will travel to Rwanda on 18 September to call notes for rising Kenyan driver Peter Horsey in a Mitsubishi Evo 9. The KCB Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally sees the young talents from across Africa go head to head for the Pirelli Star Drive, a fully funded drive in six WRC rounds in 2010!

Final FIA African Rally Championship co-drivers points

Phil Archenoul  42 points

David Shioka                31

Moses Matovu          22

For more on the team please visit www.emkarally.com

For more on the African Rally Championship visit www.africanrallychampionship.com

Experienced rallying co-driver Moses Matovu heads to Zimbabwe for the forthcoming FIA African Rally Championship grand finale hoping to end the 2009 rallying season on a high after a string of troublesome rallies recently.

Moses, who co-drives for top Ugandan rally drive Emmanuel Katto in a Tommi Makinen Racing Subaru Impreza N14, began the year with a fine second overall in Tanzania. Overheating problems restricted the pair to fifth place points in Kenya, whilst their home rally was cut short after the tragic accident of close friend Riyaz Kurji towards the end of Day 1. The pair then journeyed south to Zambia for the penultimate round, but a combination of problems, including an altercation with a tree ended their rally and along with it, their 2009 championship hopes.

Emmanuel and I certainly have not had the greatest of years this year. We’ve shown that the car has the pace and the potential and are already working on plans for 2010. We head to Zimbabwe to show our support to the organisers and the other crews, and will be aiming to end our season on a high.

Moses has prior experience of the high speed roads that make up the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally. In 2007 Moses made his debut alongside Katto and the pair were lying a comfortable third overall when the engine let go. The pair will certainly be hoping that history does not repeat itself this weekend.

The Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally begins on Friday the 28th of August, and after over 230 kilometres of high speed rallying the crews will return to the capital for a ceremonial finish on Sunday afternoon.

For more on the team please visit www.emkarally.com

Ugandan rally co-driver Moses Matovu survived a typically harsh and difficult KCB Safari Rally as he guided fellow Ugandan Emmanuel Katto to a top ten overall finish back in Nairobi last Sunday.

The pair, who are contesting the full FIA African Rally Championship in a Tommi Makinen prepared Subaru Impreza N14, are still adapting to the new car and the rough nature of the Safari Rally, once tagged as the world’s toughest rally certainly proved quite a test for both machinery and crew.

After putting on a show to thousands of cheering spectators in central Nairobi during Friday’s super special, the real action began on Saturday. Six stages based around Lake Elmenteita saw the Katto/ Matovu partnership struggle as the Subaru developed overheating problems. With both crew being seasoned rally competitors they took the problems in their stride and completed the opening day on the fringes on the top ten.

An overnight radiator change helped to cure the overheating issues and the pair agreed to try and gain a couple of positions on Sunday’s seven stages, all run around the Athi River area. However, after a couple of ‘moments’ on the opening stage, the pair opted to consolidate their position and focus on African Championship points, eventually returning to Nairobi fifth overall amongst the African Rally Championship registered crews.

Moses was philosophical at the finish; every time I tackle the Safari Rally I am again reminded of how tough and savage the event is. Even the best preparations can quickly go wrong and this rally is all about survival. We are still learning the car and I’m confident that when we head home to Uganda we will be back on the pace.

Emmanuel and Moses will head to round three of the ARC, the Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally, lying second overall in the championship. Whilst the rally, based in Kampala, might be their home event the pair crashed out of a strong second position during the 2008 running and will be keen to make amends.

For more on the team please visit www.emkarally.com

Current standings after two rounds.

Jamie Whyte/ Phil Archenoul (ZW)            Subaru Impreza        20 pts
Emmanuel Katto/ Moses Matovu (EAU)    Subaru Impreza        12 pts
Muna Singh/ David Shioka (Z)                  Subaru Impreza          8 pts

Story by Special Reporter Geoff Mayes