Indian duo of Puligilla and Sherif eye podium finish at Rwanda Rally 2026

Kigali City (Rwanda), Jul 10 (PTI) Indian rally driver Naveen Puligilla and his co-driver Musa Sherif will look for another podium finish at the Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally, which is the third round of the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC), starting here on Saturday. The duo completed the shakedown and qualifying stage on Friday. The Duran Racing team's Puligilla and Sherif of Kasaragod will drive a Ford Fiesta, serviced by MRU Motorsports Africa, in the ARC3 category. The total distance is 307.52km while the 18 Special Stages of competitive distance forms 252km of demanding mountain stages on Saturday and Sunday. "The recce has given us a good understanding of the stages. The terrain is quite technical with changing grip levels of the mountain roads and we are prepared for it," said Puligilla, the Indian National Rally champion of 2025 in the 3T class. The celebrated Indian duo started the season with a third place finish in the WRC3 class in March 2026 at the WRC Safari Rally Kenya. The rally was also the opening round of the FIA African Rally Championship, where Puligilla and Sherif secured second place in the ARC3 class. The pair earlier became the first Indian driver and co-driver combo to achieve a podium finish in any WRC category in 2025 with a remarkable second place in the WRC3 class at the Rally Saudi Arabia and bagged the Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India (FMSCI) Special Award at the federation's 2025 Annual Awards ceremony. PTI SSC PM SSC PM PM PM