A new Toyota Yaris prototype built by Latvia’s Neiksans Rally Car (NRC) has touched down in Uganda, and the motorsport community can’t stop talking about it.
NRC has become a household name locally, and the arrival of their latest build has fans asking one big question: who owns it?
For a while, all signs pointed to rally legend Moses Lumala who made his comeback this year in a Ford Fiesta Proto after more than a decade away, and after that return he said he wanted to add a Yaris to his collection.
Sources say NRC did build this Yaris specifically for Lumala. But during production he reportedly changed his mind and sold the car to another Ugandan. Whether he’s now chasing a full WRC-spec Yaris instead remains to be seen.
The plot thickened with the delivery of two buggies alongside the Yaris. Both buggies are understood to belong to Lumala. Some sources now link the Yaris to Jeff Karugire, a well-known friend of several rally drivers including Duncan Mubiru “Kikankane” who usually uses Karugire’s farm in Mubende for training.
The prototype was meant to get its first shakedown at the Soroti-Katakwi Rally on July 24-25, with NRC boss Maris Neiksans himself handling it for a pro-drive test. That plan is now on hold. Neiksans isn’t expected back in Uganda until late August or mid-September, so the Yaris debut will likely have to wait.
Until then, the car sits as one of the most talked-about new machines in the paddock.
