Prince Nyerere eyes ARC diadem in Burundi after the Rwanda conquest
ARUSHA: AFTER a stellar performance in the third round of the African Rally Championship(ARC) in Rwanda, Tanzania’s youthful wheeler, Prince Charles Nyerere, seeks to brighten his performance in Burundi, the venue of the fourth round of this year’s continental-level championship.
Burundi holds his key to the ARC throne as any good finish there will guarantee him a wheeling diadem.
Prince Nyerere, who was navigated by Rwandan, Fernand Rutabingwa, powered his Mitsubishi Evolution X to the overall third position while at the same time giving him a number one position in the WC 2 category.
“In Rwanda, I surpassed expectations with a podium finish among the ARC competitors and secured a class win. Although my approach was focused primarily on gaining experience, the results proved that I am rapidly becoming one to watch,” said Prince Nyerere.
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But to achieve his Burundian mission, Prince Nyerere has called on material support from motorsports stakeholders and Tanzania, since the whole trip to Burundi is very costly.
He said he was juggling almost every logistical responsibility himself. Unlike many competitors who rely on team managers, Prince handled his entire operation solo, including driving nearly 3,000 km round-trip from Tanzania to Rwanda and back.
His journey is a testament to both his passion for the sport and his unwavering ambition.
Despite having contested the Rwanda Rally in the last three editions, Prince approached this year’s event with a focus on personal development. His goal was clear: beat his previous stage times on routes that largely mirrored last year’s configuration.
“The idea is just to do the events, keep on improving, taking it step by step. I believe I am the driver with the least experience out of all the entrants, but we are here to gain experience and keep on improving.” — Prince Nyerere told Rwanda’s media outlet, Safosport.
It was anything but a straightforward weekend for the young driver. On Saturday, an intercom failure forced Prince and co-driver Fernand Rutabingwa to tackle several stages without communication. On Sunday, brake issues—likely stemming from a faulty master cylinder—surfaced, and with no spare on hand, they had to nurse the car to the finish. Yet, through resilience and smart driving, he brought the car home to a fantastic result, showing maturity far beyond his years.
Prince Nyerere emphasized the importance of experience and mileage when striving for top-level performance.
“I know with rallying, most people forget that it takes experience and seat time, and when we see all these top drivers performing well, it’s because they have been doing it for a while and they have a lot of miles under their belt.”
“I do respect them a lot and I know that I just need to keep on pushing and learning, just trying to improve, taking it step by step,” Prince added.
The ARC championship will rev off in Burundi for round four from August 15th to 17th this year.
