By SANDRA MWILA –
RALLY rookie Muna Singh junior has jumped into joint second position of the African Rally Championship (ARC) after winning the continental race of the South African Sasol rally, which is second on the ARC calendar.
Muna yesterday expressed happiness at winning the Sasol rally which took him to 25 points on the continental race having missed the first one held in Ivory Coast.
He said in an interview yesterday that he would work hard and ensure that he wins the Zambia international rally which is the third on the ARC calendar that will be held next month.
He  won the ARC race in the Sasol rally after clocking two hours 51 minutes and 11 seconds, but finished in eighth position overall with all seven ahead of him not taking part in the ARC rally.
Muna now lies on joint second place on the ARC log, sharing the position with Ivorian Garry Chanynes on 25 points and are 11 points off log leader Don Smith from Kenya, who has 36 points.
He said his plan was to win the Zambia rally and over take Smith on the ARC log.
Muna  described the Sasol rally as tough especially after suffering a number of hiccups on the terrain.
“Thank you so much to you all for the heart warming and good luck messages.  We have completed the first task of 25 points in the bag and victory for mother Zambia.
“After bending a rear control arm,  the exhaust and breaking the hand brake as well as a couple of close calls in the hills, my  navigator  Jasmine, who is my sister,  did a great job and we brought the car home in one piece,” Muna  explained.
And  Ismail Ibrahim, also representing Zambia in the ARC competition, said the South African outing was a good experience.
Ibrahim, who was participating in the two-wheel drive (2WD) category, said he dropped a number of points due to a faulty clutch.
“Thanks for the many messages I’ve received throughout the rally, it was a tough day, I dropped many positions due to clutch problems.
“On the positive note, we’ve collected maximum points through Muna and me on the 2WD category,” he said.