Sunday is going to be loud, dusty, and absolutely electric. A field of 85 riders will converge on Victoria Raceway Park in Garuga this weekend for the final round of the 2026 National Motocross Championship, bringing Uganda’s most adrenaline-charged motorsport season to its climactic close. The numbers alone say something important: 85 riders is not a small gathering. It is a declaration that this sport is alive, growing, and hungry for a champion.
The Stage is Set at Victoria Raceway Park
Garuga, sitting along the northern shores of Lake Victoria on the outskirts of Kampala, is no stranger to speed. Victoria Raceway Park has long served as the spiritual home of Ugandan motorsport, a venue that rewards both skill and nerve in equal measure. The circuit’s terrain demands technical precision on corners while rewarding raw horsepower on the straights. For riders who have been grinding through qualifying rounds across the season, arriving here with a shot at the title is the fulfilment of months of hard work, early mornings, and grease-stained weekends.
With 85 competitors entered, the grid will be one of the most packed the championship has seen. That kind of density in a motocross field is significant. It means more battles for position, tighter gaps between riders, and the very real possibility that a single mistake on a berm or a rhythm section can unravel an entire season’s worth of points. There is no margin for error at a final round. Every gate drop matters.
George Semakula: From Rider to Race Keeper
One of the more compelling figures shaping this weekend’s event is George Semakula, the clerk of the course who carries the rare credibility of a man who has actually ridden at this level. Semakula is not a bureaucrat with a clipboard. He is a former competitor who understands the course from the inside out, having once felt the same vibration in his handlebars that Sunday’s 85 riders will feel when they leave the start gate.
His role as clerk of the course puts him at the nerve centre of the event’s operations. He is responsible for the safety, fairness, and smooth running of every race on the day. That blend of insider knowledge and administrative authority is a rare combination in any sport’s officialdom. Former athletes who transition into course or race management often bring a sensitivity to the competitor’s experience that purely administrative officials sometimes miss. Semakula’s background gives him that edge.
What a Clerk of the Course Actually Does
For casual fans watching from the sidelines, the term “clerk of the course” might not mean much. In practice, it is one of the most important roles at any motorsport event. The clerk holds authority over the running order of races, flag signals, incident responses, and the enforcement of competition rules on the day. If a rider goes down, if there’s a disputed pass, if the course becomes dangerous after rain, the clerk of the course is the person making the call. It is a pressure role that requires calm judgment in chaotic moments, exactly the kind of temperament you’d expect from a man who once raced competitively himself.
Why the Final Round Always Delivers
There is something specifically electric about a season finale in motorsport. The mathematics of championship standings mean that some riders arrive at Garuga already knowing they need a miracle, while others understand that a clean, consistent ride will be enough to seal the title. Both psychological states produce different kinds of racing. The desperate push harder. The measured stay disciplined. The collision of those two approaches, multiplied across an 85-rider field spanning multiple classes, is what makes a final round such a rich sporting spectacle.
Motocross at this level is also a deeply physical sport. Unlike circuit racing where mechanical advantage plays a larger role, motocross rewards riders who can manage their bodies as much as their machines. Fatigue over multiple motos, the physical battering of a technical track, and the mental load of competition all compound as the day goes on. By the time the final motos run, the riders crossing the line have earned every single position through sheer athletic will.
A Growing Sport in Uganda
The fact that 85 riders have registered for this championship’s final round is worth pausing on. Uganda’s motocross community has grown steadily over the years, drawing in younger riders who see the sport as both a genuine competitive pursuit and a gateway into broader motorsport culture. Events like the National Motocross Championship provide the kind of structured competition that allows talent to be identified, developed, and ultimately channelled toward higher levels of the sport.
The presence of a venue like Victoria Raceway Park, with its established infrastructure and passionate local following, gives the sport a permanent home rather than a nomadic existence. That permanence matters for sponsorship conversations, for media coverage, and for the next generation of riders who need to see a clear path from grassroots competition to national recognition.
What to Watch for on Sunday
When the gates drop at Garuga this Sunday, keep your eyes on the opening few seconds. The holeshot, that first position heading into turn one, carries disproportionate weight in motocross. Clean air, a clear line, and no traffic ahead can define an entire race. Riders who get buried in the mid-pack at the start must work twice as hard to recover time and positions, burning energy they will need in later motos.
Beyond the championship battle itself, watch for the younger riders in the lower classes. Final rounds have a history of producing surprise performances from competitors who have nothing to lose and everything to prove. Sometimes the rider who makes the biggest impression on the final day of a season becomes the name everyone is talking about at the start of the next.
Uganda’s motocross calendar does not get a bigger day than this. Eighty-five riders, one track, and a championship to settle. The noise, the roost, and the raw competition of it all will play out this Sunday at Victoria Raceway Park in Garuga, and the only question worth asking is: will you be watching?
