The second day of Rally Hungary has come to an end. Mikko Heikklä took the event lead after the days six stages.
SS2, HEGYESD 1
Mathieu Franceschi topped the opening stage of the day, with a time 1.2 seconds faster than Mikko Heikklä. Hayden Paddon finished third fastest on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Franceschi and 1.3 seconds slower than Heikklä. Franceschi also managed to take the event lead after the stage. The Frenchman took a lead of 2.3 seconds over Hayden Paddon into SS3.
SS3, KISLÖTÉR 1
Simone Tempestini claimed the stage win on the third stage of Rally Hungary for his first of the weekend and season. Tempestini finished 1.3 seconds faster than Martin Sesks on the stage. Miko Marczyk set the third fastest time on the stage, 2.3 seconds slower than Tempestini and 1 second slower than Sesks. Mikko Heikklä moved into the event lead after the third stage. Heikklä led the event by 0.4 seconds over Martin Sesks after the stage. Simone Tempestini sat third overall after the stage, 3.1 seconds slower than Heikklä and 2.7 slower than Sesks.
SS4, VÁRPALOTA 1
Miklós Csomós topped the final stage of the morning loop at his home event. Csomós set a time 0.4 seconds faster than Simone Tempestini to claim the stage win. Mikko Heikklä and Martin Sesks tied for the third fastest time on the stage. With both drivers finishing 0.5 seconds slower than Csomós and 0.1 seconds slower than Tempestini. Heikklä was able to maintain the event lead heading into the afternoon service. Due to Heikklä and Sesks tying for third fastest on the fourth stage of the weekend Heikklä’s 0.4-second lead stayed the same. While Simone Tempestini was able to close the gap between himself and Sesks to 2.6 seconds.
SS5, HEGYESD 2
Mathieu Franceschi started the afternoon loop in the same fashion as the morning loop, by taking a stage win. Franceschi set a time 2.2 seconds faster than Martin Sesks to take his second stage win of the day. Hayden Paddon finished third fastest, 4.5 seconds slower than Franceschi and 2.3 seconds slower than Sesks. Martin Sesks was able to take the event lead after SS5. Sesks would take a lead of 2.7 seconds over Mikko Heikklä into the day’s penultimate stage. Simone Tempestini retained third overall after the stage, now sitting 8.8 seconds behind Sesks and 6.1 seconds behind Heikklä.
SS6, KISLÖTÉR 2
Martin Sesks was able to claim his first stage win of Rally Hungary on the penultimate stage of the day. Sesks would finish 1.1 seconds faster than Mikko Heikklä on the stage. Simone Tempestini was third fastest on the stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Sesks and 0.2 seconds slower than Heikklä. Sesks would remain in the event lead after winning SS6. With the Latvian now holding a 3.8-second lead over Mikko Heikklä heading into the day’s final stage. Simone Tempestini also remained in third, now 10.1 seconds behind Sesks and 6.3 seconds behind Heikkla.
SS7, VÁRPALOTA 2
Mathieu Franceschi capped off the second day of Rally Hungary with his third stage win of the weekend. Franceschi set a time 0.8 seconds faster than Miko Marczyk to claim the stage win. Simone Tempestini and Mikko Heikklä tied for the third fastest time on the stage. With both drivers finishing 2 seconds slower than Franceschi and 1.2 seconds slower than Marczyk. Mikko Heikklä was able to reclaim the event lead to cap off the day. Heikklä takes a 2.3-second lead over Martin Sesks into the final day. Simone Tempestini closed the gap between him and second overall, as Tempestini ended the day 4 seconds behind Sesks.
Blog
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Rally Hungary Heikklä Leads After Day Two
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Moto2: Canet Capitalises Once More with Pole in the USA
Aron Canet takes his second pole in three races, beating out Fermin Aldeguer and Sergio Garcia for the best spot on the grid for tomorrow’s race. Local rider Joe Roberts was able to qualify in fifth.
Some riders who would have go to through qualifying one were Celestino Vietti, 2023 Moto3 Champion Jaume Masia and FIlip Salac. After the first fast laps, Vietti was the fastest rider on the circuit, even when he had to make his way around other riders who were slow on the track.
Darryn Binder caused a yellow flag at the end of the session and was unable to set a lap time. Because of the yellow flag, Zonta van der Goorbergh’s fastest lap time was deleted. The Dutch rider the fastest through sector one and without the yellow flag could have made it through to the second qualifying session.
The four riders who went through to Q2 were Vietti, Masia, Albert Arenas and Diogo Moreira.
Celestino Vietti ends Q1 fastest 🔥@jaume_masia, @AlbertArenas75 and Diogo Moreira advance to Q2 as well 🙌#AmericasGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/pPDtbHlnJf
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 13, 2024
The second qualifying session started, and all the riders went out within the first few minutes except Ai Ogura and Garcia. This was Jake Dixon’s first qualifying session of the season after the injury he sustained earlier in the season.
Canet’s first lap was cancelled due to exceeding track limits at turn one.
The early pace setter was Alonso Lopez who set a 2:08.231 on his Speed Up Racing Boscoscuro motorbike. This was slower than the time set by Vietti to progress from Q1 to Q2.
After the success of progressing to Q2, unfortunately Vietti crashed at turn four causing a yellow flag. Due to this, he was unable to set a lap time. There was also gravel on the track which the riders would need to avoid.
At the halfway point of the session, Canet was at the top of the timesheet from Barry Baltus, Marcos Ramirez and Dennis Foggia.
After finishing first in the second practice session, Arbolino was a lot of people’s choice for pole position, but he crashed at turn 15 causing a yellow flag in the third and fourth sectors. This led to some riders losing their lap times.
Another early crasher! 💥@TonyArbolino's difficult weekend continues 😔#AmericasGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/nacWCZz3Qm
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 13, 2024
Garcia and Aldeguer were going quick following the removal of the yellow flag and at the end of the second sector, both were around two tenths under Canet’s time and went up to the top of the timesheets.
As the only American racer in the field, all eyes were on Roberts also and he set his fastest lap which put him in fourth place but was bumped down by a few riders. He improved on his following lap and jumped up to third place, eclipsing his American Racing teammate, Ramirez.
The checkered flag came out and Canet was on another fast lap that looked as though it would be good enough for pole position and it was. He set a 2:07.631 that was unable to be beaten by any of the other riders, namely Lopez and Ramirez who looked close to setting the fastest time of the session.
For tomorrow’s race, Canet will head up the field from Aldeguer and Garcia. Arenas, Roberts and Ramirez populate the second row ahead of Foggia, Lopez and Gonzalez. Bo Bendsneyder rounded out the top ten.
2024 Moto2 COTA – Qualifying Results Pos Rider Nat Team Time 1 Aron Canet SPA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 2m 07.631s 2 Fermin Aldeguer SPA Beta Tools Speed Up (Boscoscuro) 0.109s 3 Sergio Garcia SPA MT Helmets – MSI (Boscoscuro) 0.188s 4 Albert Arenas SPA QJMOTOR Gresini (Kalex) 0.234s 5 Joe Roberts USA OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) 0.237s 6 Marcos Ramirez SPA OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) 0.280s 7 Dennis Foggia ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 0.400s 8 Alonso Lopez SPA Beta Tools Speed Up (Boscoscuro) 0.432s 9 Manuel Gonzalez SPA QJMOTOR Gresini (Kalex) 0.443s 10 Bo Bendsneyder NED Pertamina Mandalika GAS UP Team (Kalex) 0.481s 11 Tony Arbolino ITA Elf Marc VDS Racing (Kalex) 0.496s 12 Barry Baltus BEL RW – Idrofoglia Racing GP (Kalex) 0.511s 13 Jeremy Alcoba SPA Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team (Kalex) 0.516s 14 Jake Dixon GBR CFMoto Inde Aspar Team (Kalex) 0.650s 15 Celestino Vietti ITA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 0.680s 16 Diogo Moreira BRA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 0.734s 17 Ai Ogura JPN MT Helmets – MSI (Boscoscuro) 0.830s 18 Jaume Masia SPA Pertamina Mandalika GAS UP Team (Kalex) 0.881s Q1 19 Somkiat Chantra THA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 2m 08.479s 20 Filip Salac CZE Elf Marc VDS Racing (Kalex) 2m 08.599s 21 Deniz Oncu TUR Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 2m 08.601s 22 Senna Agius AUS Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 2m 08.617s 23 Izan Guevara SPA CFMoto Inde Aspar Team (Kalex) 2m 08.870s 24 Zonta van den Goorbergh NED RW – Idrofoglia Racing GP (Kalex) 2m 08.930s 25 Mario Aji INA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 2m 09.419s 26 Xavier Artigas SPA KLINT Forward Factory Team (Forward) 2m 10.408s 27 Xavi Cardelus AND Fantic Racing (Kalex) 2m 10.735s 28 Alex Escrig SPA KLINT Forward Factory Team (Forward) 2m 11.109s 29 Darryn Binder RSA Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) No Time Feature Image Credit: Fantic Racing
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Rally Hungary Cais Leads
The first day of Rally Hungary has come to a close. Erik Cais leads after the day’s lone stage. Find out more about the day and what’s to come below.
Qualifying
The qualifying stage opened Rally Hungary as it does every ERC event. This is used to determine the road order for the following day. Miko Marczyk topped the stage, with a time 0.5 seconds faster than Simone Tempestini. Marczyk will start 17th on the road tomorrow. Mathieu Franceschi finished third on the qualifying stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Tempestini. Behind Franceschi were Erik Cais and former Finnish Rally Champion Mikko Heikklä, who both finished 0.7 seconds slower than Franceschi.
SS1, Királyszentistván
The first round of the 2024 European Rally Championship season kicked off with a 2.05 km SuperSpecial stage. Erik Cais topped the stage with a time 0.1 seconds faster than Martin László. Reigning ERC champion Hayden Paddon was third fastest on the stage. Paddon finished 0.8 seconds slower than Cais and 0.7 seconds slower than László. Mathieu Franceschi set the fourth fastest time on the opening stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Paddon. Miklós Csomós rounded out the top five on the stage, 1.2 seconds slower than Cais and 0.5 seconds slower than Franceschi.
What To Expect From Rally Hungary Day Two
The second day of Rally Hungary will see drivers contest 104.25 km across six stages. Vladas Jurkevicius will be first on the road tomorrow. Hungarians Frigyes Turán and Martin László will be second and third on the road respectively. Reigning Champion Hayden Paddon will be eighth on the road. The first full day of action will likely go as expected. One driver will forge a lead and everyone else will try and catch up.
Østberg Out
Mads Ostberg has unfortunately withdrawn his entry to the opening round of the ERC season. The reason for the withdrawal is because Ostberg has fallen ill and has been in the hospital for the last few days. This decision wasn’t an easy one for the former WRC2 champion who has previously won Rally Hungary. Østberg has confirmed he will contest the second round of the season, Rally Islas Canaries next month.
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Formula E Season 10 Tokyo E-Prix: Guenther snatches win from Nissan and Rowland
Just 2 weeks after the sao paulo e-prix, we were presented with another race, this time in the home of Nissan: Japan! This introduction of the Tokyo E-Prix saw a different layout, sometimes a mixture of the Rome and London circuits. However, none of this could stop the Maserati MSG of Maximilian Guenther from clinching the win away from the pole sitter and majority of the race leader Oliver Rowland.
Key Moments During The Race
- Oliver Rowland lead the field away from pole position ahead of Edoardo Mortara in P2 and Maximilian Guenther in P3.
- Jaguar Drivers Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy went to P11 and P18 respectfully after the start
- The fastest lap was changing hands during lap 5 with Nato and Mueller touching
- Jake Hughes crashed into the barrier at turn 15 on lap 6 due to a collision with Di Grassi. The British driver managed to get away on their own accord, however they fell to the back of the grid.
- The Tag Hauer Porsche Team played the team game on lap 9 as Da Costa slowed up the grid behind them so Wehrlein could take attack mode.
- A new race leader emerged on lap 13 as Oliver Rowland took attack mode with Maximilian Guenther inheriting P1.
- Guenther fell down to P3 after taking attack mode.
- Mitch Evans had front wing damage on lap 18 after contact.
- The safety car was called out soon after to pick up debris.
- De Vries and Di Grassi have both retired at this point.
- Nick Cassidy managed to make his way up to P11 by lap 25.
- Maximilian Guether takes the lead on lap 25.
- 2 additional laps were added near the end of the race due to the safety car.
- Norman Nato and Robin Frijns made contact as Nato went off the racing line, received a 5 second penalty for this collision but it was later overturned.
- Da Costa falls down to P4 after a three way battle for the podium positions.
- Guenther wins, Rowland P2, Dennis P3.
Jake Hughes, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, e-4ORCE 04, leads Lucas di Grassi, ABT CUPRA Formula E Team, M9Electro, and Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Penske, DS E-Tense FE23-Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank Formula E Season 10 Round 5 Tokyo E-Prix Results
Position Driver Team Points 1st Maximilian Guenther
(fastest lap)
Maserati MSG Racing
26 2nd Oliver Rowland (pole) Nissan Formula E Team 21 3rd Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 15 4th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 12 5th Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 10 6th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 8 7th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 6 8th Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 4 9th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 2 10th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Racing 1 11th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 0 12th Jean-Eric Verge DS Penske 0 13th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 0 14th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0 15th Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 0 16th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 0 17th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0 18th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 0 19th Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0 DNF Lucas Di Grassi Mahindra Racing 0 DSQ Edoardo Mortara Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0 DNF Nyck De Veries Mahindra Racing 0 Formula E Season 10 Championship After Round 5
Position Driver Team Points 1. Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 63 2. Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 61 3. Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 54 4. Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 53 5. Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 48 6. Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 39 7. Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 39 8. Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 37 9. Robin Frijns Envision Racing 21 10. Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 20 11. Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 20 12. Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 18 13. Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 18 14. Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 17 15. Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 8 16. Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 6 17. Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 3 18. Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0 19. Lucas DiGrassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0 20. Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0 21. Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0 22. Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 0 Most Impressive Race
The most impressive race for me has to be from Oliver Rowland. Leaving the sport mid season last year, eyebrows were raised over whether he would return to the sport. Now, at his new team’s home race, getting pole position and being able to maintain his energy for the majority of the race until he had to fall back to P2 in order to conserve energy to make it to the end is seriously impressive.
Driver who needs to improve the most after Tokyo
Now that we have finished just under one third of the season, I think Mitch Evans really needs to improve the most. Yes, his teammate did manage to qualify near the back due to a lap time deletion in qualifying, Evans should have made up spots on the start to try and bridge the gap to his felle Kiwi but instead, Cassidy finished P8 after the DSQ from Mortara which still made Evans not get any points from the weekend. Evans needs to get his head into the right space
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Safari Rally Kenya 2024 – Day Three Report – Sunday
The final day then for this year on the amazing roads in Kenya and the crews faced 74km’s over six stages. Gregoire Munster returned to the action and would open the road throughout the final day.
First up was the super rough SS14 Malewa 1 – 8.33 km, a stage with not just rocks but also bedrock throughout the stage, between sandy sections. Thierry was fastest from his teammate, Ott and Esapekka. Both Takamoto and Esapekka suffered punctures in the stage though. In WRC2 Gus was fastest from Oliver and Kajetan and the three remained in the top positions in the category.
Into SS15 Oserian 1 – 18.33 km, which was not only longer, but also faster. Elfyn was quickest from Ott and Thierry. Oliver was again fastest in WRC2 from Gus and Nicolas. The Brit was feeling much better today and managing his pace on the stage.
The final morning stage then, SS16 Hell’s Gate 1 – 10.53 km a well-known stage and is super-fast as well. Elfyn was fastest in the stage from Ott and Takamoto. There was drama for Thierry as he hit a very, very large rock in the stage, breaking his right-rear suspension. Once again Oliver was fastest from Gus and Nicolas in WRC2.
After the service break it was back to SS17 Malewa 2 – 8.33 km and Thierry was again fastest from his teammates Ott and Esapekka. Elfyn lost a huge amount of time but was taking it easy over the rocky roads. In WRC2 Oliver was again fastest from Gus and Charles Munster.
The second run of SS18 Oserian 2 – 18.33 km saw Ott go fastest from Thierry and Esapekka, whilst Elfyn lost a huge amount of time which was odd given that he was fastest in the stage earlier. Oliver was again fastest from Gus and Nicolas in WRC2.
Time then for the final stage, SS19 Hell’s Gate 2[Power Stage] – 10.53 km and Thierry was fastest from Ott, Esapekka, Kalle and Elfyn. It was a surprise to see Kalle set a time that ultimately put him ahead of Elfyn in the power stage points, but of course the crews do not get the split times in the cars and have not for some time. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest from Gus and Kajetan.
Let’s take a look at the top ten and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Safari Rally Kenya
1 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 3:36.04.0 2 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:37.8 3 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +2:25.1 4 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +4:20.2 5 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +10:17.5 6 G. Greensmith J. Andersson Škoda Fabia RS +18:05.4 7 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Škoda Fabia RS +19:28.5 8 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +21:02.0 9 J. Serderidis F. Miclotte Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +26:13.3 10 K. Kajetanowicz M. Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia RS +26:34.4 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä
“It’s special to be able to win the Safari for the second time. This event is so tough and it’s also a legendary one for Toyota: we have always been good here and we are still continuing that record. Like they say in Africa, the car in front is always a Toyota. A big thanks to the team, because everybody made a big effort to make the car work so well. I think we did a good job, I think you cannot do a better Safari than what we did, with no issues and clever driving. Today was difficult, having to drive the roughest stage on the calendar twice when you have a huge lead, trying to avoid everything, it’s not easy. We just needed to stick to the plan, and it worked out.”

Takamoto Katsuta
“It’s a very nice feeling to achieve this second place and to be on the podium again in Kenya. It was a tough rally like always, so we need to say a huge thanks to the team because they prepared very well, and the car was working so well. I made some mistakes yesterday and we got the punctures, but I could always trust the car. When we needed to push, we were able to push, and the times were good. Reliability is a strong point for Toyota and I’m very proud to drive this car.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s not been an easy weekend for us. At least we could reach the end of the rally, which is a positive thing, but we wanted more from this weekend. Today we had good speed at points but there were just a few little issues, so we didn’t get as many points as we’d like. The first loop was not easy: the opening stage was extremely rough, and we were probably too conservative there compared to the others. In the Power Stage we gave it a go but already in the first half it was very difficult.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“A good weekend, but for sure we could have done better. Unfortunately, we got hit by some problems but despite this, we kept fighting. Today there was an opportunity to take loads of points – we scored 11 out of 12, so we’re satisfied to be the second-best performer today. We would have loved to get more, especially after three consecutive difficult years here in Kenya. Still room for improvement but we have managed to increase the lead in the championship and got a good road position for Croatia. On to the next one!”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship Round 3,
Safari Rally Kenya 2024, 27-31 March 2024
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 3 of WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2024
Photographer: Romain Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbHOtt Tänak
“Our target was always not to push to the maximum, but to aim for the podium with a clean run, so our retirement on Friday was of course frustrating. Although we had to face a number of issues in the car and on the road our troubles had nothing to do with reliability. Our pace is definitely getting closer to the others. Croatia will be a completely different rally even to Monte-Carlo, so let’s see how we do. We want to get back on track; the championship is very young, but we need to get back into our normal rhythm.”
Esapekka Lappi
“The speed this weekend was good from the beginning, even yesterday when we were opening the road, so we need to be pleased with that. All of our cars were quite competitive in terms of pace but unfortunately reliability was not with us this weekend and that is reflected in the results. At least my team-mates were able to get a lot of points from today and it was great to get that 1-2-3 in the Power Stage. I am looking forward to my next event with the team.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Adrien Fourmaux
“It’s been a fantastic weekend, the team have been doing a really good job the whole time, the car has been really reliable, and we had no issues at all with the car. I was really pleased with that, so congratulations to the team, the result belongs to them as well. Ok we have been sensible, but it has been really positive. For us it’s two podiums in two rallies and a really great start to the season, we are still third in the championship so now we need to continue. We have had one podium on snow, one on gravel, so we just need one on Tarmac now!”

Jourdan Serderidis
“We have finished 9th overall, so it looks like Kenya suits me quite well! M-Sport has had a very positive event for the whole team across Rally1 and Rally2, it’s been great to be a part of it.”
Grégoire Munster
“It’s not the result we expected, but I think we were driving carefully with a smart approach, and at the end it could have been a top five finish. Unfortunately, on Saturday morning we hit a rock and didn’t manage to repair the car, even though we really gave it our best. A bit disappointing but at least we were able to come back on Sunday to do the kilometres, grab the experience and take a couple of points for the championship. Even though it’s not the result we wanted, I think there’s still some positives to take home and we are already looking forward to Croatia and being back on Tarmac.”
Oliver Solberg
“I have to be happy with this result,” said the 22-year-old Oliver. “Of course, I am a little bit disappointed. I came here to win, but this rally is a big, big challenge and to come away with points for second and the championship lead is good.

“The chance to win was lost on the first day, when we got two punctures on two stages on Friday. But we said all of the time that this rally, the Safari Rally has some surprises and some excitement and that’s part of the appeal – it’s part of the challenge of this place.
“I absolutely love the rally; I love the people and the atmosphere around here. It’s just fantastic, every time you get out of the car you are surrounded by people smiling, wanting a selfie everybody is just happy and pleased to see you. It’s a very cool place and very cool rally and I’m already looking forward to coming back!”
“Like we said at the start of the year, we need to be strategic about the programme. I really want to win this title this season, it’s what everything is geared towards. So, that makes this event a success. We have points and the championship lead – and some fastest times which is nice.
“Once again, Elliott did a fantastic job on this event, he’s the best! And the team and everybody around me, I can’t thank them enough for the help and support in what we do. To come here and drive this car on these roads – it’s a pure pleasure.”
Summary
Kalle and Jonne have repeated their victory in this event after last winning in 2022. Takamoto took second place to repeat the feat from 2021 when the round returned to the championship. Finally, Adrien took a brilliant third place, his second ever podium as well. It was a clever and controlled drive from the Frenchman which delivered this result for him, Alex and M-Sport Ford team. Well, what an amazing rally and a very strong result for Toyota, taking another win.

Next up is Rally Croatia over the weekend of the 18th to 21 of April, when the crews get to tackle the first full asphalt rally of the season.
Here’s the points standings.
2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round three1 T. Neuville 67 2 E. Evans 61 3 A. Fourmaux 46 4 O. Tänak 33 5 K. Rovanperä 31 6 T. Katsuta 30 8 E. Lappi 23 9 O. Solberg 12 10 A. Mikkelsen 6 2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round three1 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 131 2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 127 3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 72 -

Safari Rally Kenya 2024 – Day Two Report – Saturday
Saturday saw the crews face 160km’s over six stages. Esapekka and Ott both returned to the action with the Finn opening the road.
The first stage, SS8 Soysambu 1 – 29.32 km saw Takamoto set the fastest time from Esapekka and Kalle. Ott was the first to have a problem, with his bonnet clip on the right-hand side not having been fully engaged and leading to around a minute lost as the Estonian had to stop to secure it again. The crew had been doing some work in the engine bay leading to this problem. Meanwhile Elfyn also had to stop after getting a puncture in the stage, dropping down from second overall to fifth. The drivers that benefitted with this were Takamoto, Thierry and Adrien, moving into second, third and fourth respectively. Also having trouble was Gregoire who damaged his suspension In WRC2, Oliver was fastest from Gus and Diego. The young Swede was on the move in the category, now holding second overall and three minutes from category leader Gus.
Into SS9 Elmenteita 1 – 15.08 km, so named because of the lake nearby and Thierry was fastest in this one, from teammate EP and Kalle. Gregoire did not make the stage, having not been able to repair his rear suspension and would retire for the day. Kalle now held a lead of 58.3 seconds over teammate Takamoto. In WRC2 Gus was fastest from Oliver and Kajetan. The Brit was feeling a little better as well.
The last stage before service, SS10 Sleeping Warrior 1 – 36.08 km, called this due to the nearby mountain which looks like a sleeping Masai Warrior, and Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Elfyn. The Belgian’s pace took him ahead of Takamoto into second overall, although Kalle now held an increased lead of almost a minute and a half. Both Takamoto and Elfyn unfortunately suffered punctures in this one, but at least the Welshman did not drop anymore positions on the leaderboard. In WRC2, Oliver was fastest from Gus by a huge 41.5 seconds and cut the gap to the category leader to two minutes and twenty-two seconds. Kajetan was third fastest and remained in third position.

After the lunch and service break, which saw a very big rainstorm come over the service park and we saw the fitting of the snorkel to the Hyundai as well came SS11 Soysambu 2 – 29.32 km. Takamoto again claimed this stage from Elfyn and Kalle. The Japanese driver regained second place overall and Adrien was now third after Thierry suffered a mechanical problem with his fuel pump and having stopped a number of times in the stage and ended up losing two minutes and thirty-eight seconds. His closest competitor was Elfyn who was twenty seconds ahead now. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest again by five and a half seconds over category leader Gus, the Brit lead now reduced to two minutes and sixteen seconds. No big drama for the Brit.
At last, Elfyn was fastest in SS12 Elmenteita 2 – 15.08 km even though he had yet another puncture. Ott and Adrien were second and third. Thierry continued to suffer with problems and lost a further one minute and fifty-eight seconds, although remained in fifth overall due to the lead he held over WRC2 leader Gus. The Brit remained firmly in charge of the support category actually winning the stage from Oliver and Kajetan.
Finally, the last stage of the day, SS13 Sleeping Warrior 2 – 36.08 km and the clouds built up, but the rain did not really arrive as many had thought it would. There was drama however for some. EP had to pull over for some cars to pass him as he suffered a smashed windscreen which was on his side of the car from an early point in the stage. The reason I hear you ask? The wildlife was the reason, as two birds was hit on the stage, but not at the same time. Two drivers also suffered punctures with Elfyn (yes again) and Adrien both having problems. Quite astonishing really, but given the rocks on the road, in a way not surprising. Ott was fastest from Takamoto and Kalle.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day Two
1 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 2:48.50.2 2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +2:08.9 3 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +3:13.3 4 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +5:35.6 5 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +11:48.6 6 G. Greensmith J. Andersson Škoda Fabia RS +15:02.0 7 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Škoda Fabia RS +16:57.0 8 K. Kajetanowicz M. Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia RS +21:15.7 9 J. Serderidis F. Miclotte Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +21:56.4 10 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +21:58.1 Toyota Gazoo Racing
Kalle Rovanperä
“It’s nice to end today with a good lead. This morning we had the plan to just take it quite carefully with a steady pace and make no mistakes. Our time on Sleeping Warrior was good: everyone had some issues and I felt I could manage the pace quite well. I was just trying to manage the risk, to not push so hard in the rough or tricky places, and you also need a bit of luck that everything goes well. It’s not always so enjoyable driving like that, just trying to go around every single rock, but it has paid off so far. Tomorrow is still a tough day, and we will try to finish the job.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“Today started very well with a fastest time: the car felt good, it was not a big push but still the time was good, so I was quite happy. We expected Sleeping Warrior would be tough, especially as the new section at the end was full of random rocks that you can’t see because they’re hidden in the grass. Unfortunately, we hit a big one, which felt very disappointing because I was trying to avoid problems, but almost everybody had trouble there. In the end, I’m very happy with what I have done so far. Tomorrow the main priority is to bring the car to the finish, and maybe there is a possibility to gain some points for the team as well.”

Elfyn Evans
“It’s not been a good day for us. There were some good moments: I felt a bit better in the car than yesterday and the pace was OK at points. But to have three punctures during the day really set us back. The outcome was not what we wanted, and it feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. We have to try and get as many points as we can from tomorrow but it’s still a long and difficult Sunday and we need to get to the finish to get any points. We just have to focus on driving and see what we can do.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“I am really disappointed with the outcome from today. It’s hard when you put a lot of effort into your preparations for the day and you don’t get the reward. Despite being competitive all weekend, the car developed some issues that we couldn’t fix ourselves, and we had to continue with them for the whole loop. We kept fighting and we will keep going tomorrow – it is going to be a challenging day and we still need to get to the finish, but we will push and see what we can do.”
Ott Tänak
“It has been such a busy day; there was always something going on and we couldn’t catch a break. In the end, this is Safari Rally Kenya, and it is no surprise that anything can happen, so we have to keep ourselves motivated. Our team has put a lot of energy to get us here today after what happened yesterday, so we have no choice but to keep going. Tomorrow is a different day again and it is difficult to say what will happen, but for sure we would like to score as many points as possible – this will be crucial.”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 02, Safari Rally Kenya
27 – 31 March 2024
Ott Tanak
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbHEsapekka Lappi
“When things start to go wrong, they go really wrong. Today was mainly about punctures and animals crossing that prevented us from recovering as much as we could have with the good pace we have shown when we were able to. Tomorrow we have some points available, and if the speed is similar to what we had today, then hopefully we can catch some people.”
Škoda Motorsport (Toksport)
Oliver Solberg
“Today has been OK, it’s difficult because we are here to race and, of course, you want to push and take the best time possible. But at the same time, we are second and that would give us good championship points.

“The gap ahead is just a little bit too big to try to make a big difference with the driving and every time you are anywhere near the limit, then you are taking the big risk. We didn’t have any issues, but it was so difficult to drive at times, so many rocks around! We had a little bit of rain in the last stage, but it could have been a lot worse.
“This is an incredible place to come to compete – when you are driving down the road sections, some of the sights, the wildlife and the scenery, it’s just amazing. And, of course, the people are fantastic, so friendly and so happy to see us. The feeling is the same from us!
“Tomorrow the plan will be the same. It’s a long day, we have 74 kilometres coming – that’s more than the usual Sunday – and we want to bring home the points. Let’s see what happens.”
Summary
Well, what a day two! The rain came but did not affect the stages, mainly falling in the service park. Through all the problems came two-time champions Kalle and Jonne and showed why they are double world champions.
Of course, the points for 1st to 10th positions are locked in place and Elfyn somehow outscored his championship rival Thierry by a couple of points. Now, all the crews need to make it to the end of the rally to actually gain these points.
The final day will see the crews tackle 74km’s over six stages. What will the day bring?
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Safari Rally Kenya 2024 – Day One Report – Friday
The first full day of the Safari Rally saw the crews tackle 132km’s over six stages and there was drama in all the stages. The first stage held on Thursday in Nairobi saw Thierry hold the lead over Ott, with Kalle in third.
Of course, heading into the Friday’s stages would be Thierry who would open the road throughout the day.
First up then was SS2 Loldia 1 – 19.17 km and Kalle was fastest from Esapekka and Ott. The Finns pace saw him move into the lead from Ott and fellow Finn EP who jumped two positions on the leader board and into third overall. Unfortunately, Elfyn suffered a puncture in this stage and could only manage the sixth best time. In WRC2 Gus was fastest from Oliver and Kajetan and these three held the last three positions in the overall top ten.
Next was SS3 Geothermal 1 – 13.12 km and the fast stage saw Thierry hit a bank on the outside of a left-hand corner, damaging his rear tyre and also the bodywork on the right-hand side. The Belgian dropped back just one place to fifth overall. Meanwhile Kalle was fastest in the stage from Esapekka and Ott. The two Hyundai drivers swapped positions as well, Esapekka now into second overall. Meanwhile in WRC2 Gus was fastest again from Kajetan and Nicolas, whilst Oliver suffered a puncture and lost a minute and fifty-one seconds and fell five positions to seventh in the category.
The last morning stage, SS4 Kedong 1 – 31.50 km and the longest stage of the day as well. The top positions were again filled by Kalle, Ott and Esapekka. Welshman, Elfyn was on the move, passing Thierry for fifth position. In WRC2 Oliver suffered a second puncture in the second stage in a row and the Swede lost a further one minute and forty-six seconds. Meanwhile Gus remained quickest from Charles Munster and Diego Dominguez.
After the lunch time service break, SS5 Loldia 2 – 19.17 km and Kalle continued his good run winning from Takamoto and Elfyn, a Toyota 1-2-3! Unfortunately, EP failed to finish the stage after suffering transmission failure. Ott now moved into second overall and Takamoto was third. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest from Gus and Kajetan. The Pole moved back into second place in the category, pushing Diego down to third.
Into SS6 Geothermal 2 – 13.12 km and Kalle was making this look easy, even though it certainly was not, winning the stage from his teammates Takamoto and Elfyn. It was a second stage disaster for the Hyundai team, with Ott crashing out after hitting a rock in the middle of a corner and damaging his steering on the right-hand side. Gus continued to set the pace in WRC2 winning the stage from Oliver and Nicolas. The Frenchman moved up one place as well and into third place.
The final stage then of the day, and Kalle completed a full six stage winning streak in SS7 Kedong 2 – 31.50 km going fastest again from Thierry and Elfyn. The Welshman’s pace moved him ahead of teammate Takamoto. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest again from Gus and Kajetan and the Swede moved into third place in the category.
Let’s hear from the drivers and take a look at the top positions.
Classification after Day One
1 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 1:16.22.6 2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +56.9 3 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:00.8 4 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +1:07.3 5 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +1:46.6 6 G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +3:34.2 7 G. Greensmith J. Andersson Škoda Fabia RS +6:51.3 8 J. Serderidis F. Miclotte Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +9:11.7 9 K. Kajetanowicz M. Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia RS +10:14.3 10 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Škoda Fabia RS +10:28.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing
Kalle Rovanperä
“It has been a really good day for us. Our plan was to try and make the most of our starting place today. I felt I could manage the pace quite well. I was quite happy pushing hard when the conditions were good, and then especially this afternoon taking care of the car and the tyres in the rough places and still we could have good times. It’s still a long rally ahead and even a lead of almost one minute is not a lot here because anything can happen: if some big rain comes we know that the gaps can be huge, and you can lose a lot of time. So, we’ll just try to keep on working the same way as we did today.”

Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a tough day out there like it always is on the Safari Rally. It’s very easy to get caught out here as we’ve seen again today. We didn’t have the best morning: it was just not really flowing and working as well as I’d like, and we didn’t have the speed we wanted either. I was struggling a bit with the balance and my own rhythm and was maybe a bit too conservative in places. After making some changes in service, we made a step in the right direction this afternoon and the times were a bit better, and I enjoyed the driving a bit more. The gaps behind are still quite tight and with such a long day tomorrow with perhaps some unpredictable conditions, we can’t count too much yet.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“It’s been a pretty good day and a clean day. The stages were quite rough like we expected, but the car was working well, and I felt comfortable. I was just following my strategy to be patient and not do anything crazy. I felt good in the first two stages this afternoon, the times were good even though I was not really pushing. Then on the last one with a soft surface, you need to really push to gain the time and if you’re careful like I was, you’re easily losing time. Tomorrow is a big day where anything can happen, and I will just keep doing what I’m doing, try to stay on the road and focus on myself.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“It was a challenging and exhausting day. We were fighting with a few little issues, but it was mainly the puncture which cost us time. We had a bit of a moment this afternoon where I completely lost the steering and we ended up on two wheels, but luckily we got away with it. I think we fought hard, but we would have preferred better results, so we will keep fighting tomorrow. It’s not nice to see my team-mates retire – another bad day here in Kenya for us – which also made it hard for me to attack with full confidence in the really rough sections in case I faced the same issues.”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship Round 3,
Safari Rally Kenya 2024, 27-31 March 2024
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 1 of WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2024
Photographer: Romain Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbHOtt Tänak
“The incident that caused our retirement was nothing special, but I guess it’s typical of Safari Rally Kenya. The rock was kind of hidden and I couldn’t really react as the road was narrow with banks on the side. I had nowhere to go so I had to take the rock, but the rock was far too big, and it put us off the road. I hit the bank and that caused the damage to the car; there was nothing we could do to avoid it.”
Esapekka Lappi
“The day was going well until we had to retire due to a gearbox issue; first the car was front-wheel drive only after an acceleration, and ultimately I couldn’t move the car, so we had to roll back from the hairpin because we were stuck. There was no major impact or noise – of course there were plenty of impacts on the stages, but none of them should have caused this problem. It is a shame as the splits were good, as was this morning. We lost ground to Kalle, but I was very satisfied with the speed that I had in the car, and it was going well until that failure.”
Oliver Solberg
“The Safari Rally is never going to be an easy one and today we really had to work hard,” said the Monster Energy-backed Oliver. “The two punctures were frustrating and it’s quite random with this surface. It’s so rough in places, it’s hard to know where the punctures are coming. You come through some sections, and you feel a few impacts and you think there is going to be a problem and there’s nothing.

“The main thing is that we are back on the podium, and we have a very long way still to run in this rally. With some weather changes maybe, coming tomorrow, anything can happen – the priority now is to stay on the podium for WRC2 and survive whatever else the Safari is going to throw at us.”
Summary
What a Friday we were treated to then! Kalle was really on form throughout the day taking every stage win. He leads a Toyota 1-2-3 after the first full day. His teammates Elfyn and Takamoto both had mixed days but kept it clean to hold second and third positions.
At Hyundai all three of their crews suffered problems, with Ott crashing out, Esapekka suffering a mechanical failure and Thierry getting a puncture but at least being able to continue. The three will be back tomorrow and Thierry will hope he can gain some positions and maybe get ahead of Elfyn.

It was a solid day for the M-Sport team, with Adrien and Gregoire delivering good pace and the pair are holding fifth and sixth overall. Let’s see what Saturday’s action brings.
Saturday will have 160km’s over six stages. Maybe there will be some rain that will come and change the conditions in the stages?







