Moses Lumala may be 61, but the former two-time National Rally Champion believes his best days in rallying are not yet behind him. After finishing second in the fourth round of the 2026 KCB National Rally Championship in Soroti/ Katakwi, the 1999 and 2003 champion issued a warning to Uganda’s young rallying generation: the more comfortable he becomes with his Ford Fiesta Proto, the more dangerous he will be. Lumala, who returned to competitive rallying after a 23-year sabbatical, says he is currently operating at only about 65 per cent of his potential. And that, he believes, should worry his younger rivals. “If I can beat them on five stages at 65 per cent with my car, then at 90 per cent I will be a problem for them in every rally I enter,” Lumala said after finishing runner-up to championship leader Hassan Alwi in Soroti/ Katakwi. The veteran driver believes the competitive instincts that saw him trade victories with some of Uganda’s greatest rally drivers in the early 1990s are returning. “The old lion in me is awakening. Soon I will be back at my peak,” he declared. Lumala has now finished second to Alwi twice this season. He was also runner-up in the season-opening round in Mbale in March, retired from the Pearl of Africa Rally in May and finished sixth in the Greater Masaka round in June. Although overall victory has continued to elude him, Lumala has been one of the most impressive drivers on individual stages. He won three stages in Mbale before adding five more stage victories in Soroti/Katakwi. His haul included the Power Stage SS10 — Hon. Peter Ogwang (12.10km) — as well as repeats of IUEA1 (17.16km), Segamu14 (10.65km), MMC2 and Steadfast Forwarders (18.09km), run as SS6, SS7 and SS9. The remaining five stage victories were shared by Alwi, Jonas Kansiime, Musa Ssegabwe and Ronald Ssebuguzi. But it was Alwi who ultimately claimed the overall honours, winning the KCB EMC Soroti/Katakwi Rally in 1 hour 13 minutes 17.4 seconds. Lumala finished 14.3 seconds behind in second, while Kansiime completed the podium in third. Pre-event favourite Ssegabwe was forced out after going off the road and landing in a swamp during SS4 — IUEA2. He had earlier won SS3 — Segamu14. The victory further strengthened Alwi’s grip on the 2026 national championship(NRC) title race. After four rounds, he leads the standings with more than 180 points, with four rounds still remaining. For hosts Eastern Motor Club (EMC), the event was also a success away from the competition. The club’s drivers responded to a government-announced community cleaning exercise by carrying out their own activity at Soroti Sports Ground before the final leg on Sunday. “As ambassadors of the environment, we were overwhelmed by our drivers’ response to the community cleaning exercise announced by government a day earlier. We conducted ours at Soroti Sports Ground before the final leg on Sunday,” EMC president Kees Kagolo said. Kagolo also thanked Vice President Jessica Alupo for timely financial support that enabled what he described as a “pompous” prize-giving ceremony. The championship now moves to western Uganda for the KCB UMC Fort Portal/Kasese Rally, scheduled for September 4-6, 2026. By then, Lumala hopes the Old Lion will be even closer to full strength.The post At 61, Lumala sends warning to Uganda’s rally young guns appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.