With three days left before the much-awaited 2022 Armed Forces appreciation motocross championship set for this weekend in Busiika, preparations are almost done with riders already arriving into the country.
Over 100 riders from eight different countries are set to face off in the championship this Sunday.
Motorcycling Association of Uganda (MAU) in partnership with the Federation of motorsport clubs of Uganda (FMU) will open doors to riders from Uganda, United States, Germany, Italy, Belgium, South Africa, Cyprus and Israel.
At a press briefing ahead of the competition, organizers and sponsors were upbeat with over 80 local riders and more than 15 foreign riders having confirmed participation as online entries are still on.
The race will be held at the recently upgraded 2km track with the course designed to challenge the riders with prize money for the top three in every class.
MAU head of technical, Julius Bukenya explains details of the weekend race, “The race is on come 27th and gates will be open at 7am for all the fans to come and watch, we shall have practice before the race that will go on until about 5pm. We have improved safety for the fans and the track. We have also designated the general, VIP and VVIP stands.”
Former FMU president Dusman Okee says the armed forces Mx championship is aimed at celebrating the army for their contribution to the country, “This race was started as an appreciation of our own children for the great job that they do for our country and region. We have a bad culture of thanking people when they have passed on or looking at the mistakes, they make so this idea is to aimed at saying thank you,” Okee explains
General secretary of team chairman MK counsel Jackie Namuyonga says the championship is geared towards celebrating the army with Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba set to be the chief guest on the day as MX 2 rider Wazir Omar says the Uganda riders are ready to put on a show come Sunday.
UPDF deputy spokesperson Col Deo Akiiki says the race is a platform to honour the men in uniform, “Sports is one of the things that brings us closer so you will see men in uniform mix freely and we also have other sports that involve physical fitness. In the UPDF, we have chieftaincy of sports and culture based at Bombo and it looks at all types of sports including football, netball and augmenting these sports with appreciation is a very important thing,” he noted.
This will be the second edition of the Armed Forces appreciation motocross championship following the inaugural 2019 edition.
