In Rwanda, Karan and his co-driver Tauseef Khan were forced into early retirement after going off in SS3 Nemba 1. The Mountain Gorilla Rally saw Samman Vohra and his co-driver Drew Sturrock emerge victorious, clocking 1:48.59.1 with paraplegic driver Nikhil Sachania and his co-driver Deep Patel in second place, clocking 2:03.39.7.
Karan had gotten his 2025 ARC charge off to a false start after he was also forced into retirement at the opening leg in March at the WRC Safari Rally.
He, however, got back to winning ways at the Pearl of Uganda Rally in May, claiming victory after recording a cumulative time of 1:51:28.9. Uganda's Yasin Nasser (2:04:21.6) and Sachania (2:07:48.4) completed the podium.
Following the first three rounds of the 2025 campaign, Patel finds himself with a massive task in the remaining legs, sitting sixth with 35 points. Uganda's Nasser leads the charge with 86 points, with Sachania second on 77 points and Vohra completing the podium with 71 points.
Carl 'Flash' Tundo is fourth with 50 points, whereas Jeremiah Wahome is fifth with 42 points. Reflecting on his early exit in Rwanda, Patel shared a moment of introspection and resilience. "It's not always victory laps and champagne. Sometimes it's standing in silence, staring at what went wrong and reminding yourself why you started."
"We will rebuild. We will come back stronger," Karan shared on his socials. He further added that he and Tauseef live to fight another day. "We live to fight another day. Hopefully, we will see you in Burundi," he added. He also thanked his sponsors, KCB, for their support at such a critical time. "Grateful to have the unwavering support of KCB at times like this," he added.
Karan claimed his maiden continental title in 2023, when he amassed 144 points to edge out Ugandans Jas Mangat (141) and Nasser (110).
His second title came in 2024 when he finished with a commanding 140 points, a massive margin from second-placed Michael Mukula from Uganda, who had 47.
