Category: Tin Top Racing

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

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.”

Esapekka 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 1^st to 10^th 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?

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

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.”

Ott 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?

Time for the third round of the season and the championship moves to East Africa and this iconic event. The extra challenge of this round is that it is much earlier this year than previous years and held at the more traditional time of Easter.

This brings the added challenge of much more tricky weather conditions and heavy rain which has made the recce days very tricky. More rain is predicted throughout the three day’s of competition, which will make the 367km’s over the 19 stages certainly a challenge.

The longest day of the rally will be Saturday with 160km’s over six stages. Friday features 132km’s over six stages as well, with Sunday featuring 74km’s over four stages.

Let’s hear from the drivers then.

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

What are the main challenges you expect to face on the Safari Rally? “This year it should be the weather conditions. With the rally moving to March, it’s the rain period in Kenya, and it’s the conditions we are most afraid of because there could be heavy rain which could make the driving close to impossible in some places. Other than this it’s a long and demanding event, but if the rain comes it will be a bit of a lottery.”

It’s been a strong start to the 2024 season, how much confidence does this give you for Kenya? “Not more than any other year to be honest because the three times I have done this rally I have had technical issues. So, when I look back over the past results, I am not really confident. However, we have prepared as good as we can and the team has worked very hard so let’s see what is possible.”

What are the advantages and disadvantages of opening the road on leg one? “It’s hard to predict, actually. In Kenya, in normal conditions, there’s no real advantage or disadvantage because it’s not like a traditional gravel rally with its clay surface. With rainy weather, it might be a big advantage but also a disadvantage because in the case of heavy rain, if we are first on the road, we might have to empty the water puddles, especially when the rain has stopped before the stage starts. If there is continuous rain or it starts raining while the stage is running it will probably be an advantage. That’s because you might be able to get through the stage without getting hit by the rain, but the cars that run 10 or 15 minutes later might have the whole stage in full wet and we have seen that in the past. But in dry conditions it’s neither an advantage or a disadvantage.”

What do you need from your Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid to be successful on the Safari Rally? “The main thing is reliability. It doesn’t need to be the fastest car, but it needs to be strong.”

It’s a very spectacular event, where does it rank among your favourite WRC events? “I like the event, but I’ve never had any good results so it’s not my favourite for that reason. Driving-wise it’s an adventure and that’s what I like, and also because it’s different to all the other events. It can be very brutal and that’s not so nice.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“The Safari Rally is the most extreme event on the calendar so it’s always an exciting one to go to. It’s more about the adventure than the pure thrill of driving but I’m looking forward to it as always. We’ve made a decent start to the year, taking good points from the first two rounds, but the Safari can be a bit of a lottery. We have to find that balance between pushing and looking after the car and see if we can be at the finish with good points, but that’s easier said than done. We’ve seen before that when it rains it can be very difficult, and we’re potentially looking at much more difficult conditions for a greater proportion of the rally and that could make things quite challenging.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s really exciting to go back to Kenya. It’s been quite a good rally for me and also for our team: we have got some really amazing results there. The atmosphere is also great so I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be interesting to go there at this time of the year, during the rainy season. We expect that it could be much muddier, and already in the previous years we have seen a bit of rain and it is always really tricky and slippery in those conditions. The biggest challenge will be to have reliable pace for the whole week, be consistent and stay out of trouble. Rally Sweden didn’t go as planned, so I’m really hungry to get a good result in Kenya.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“I’m of course really excited and looking forward to the Safari Rally: it’s a rally where Toyota has been really strong. But this time we will go to Kenya in a very different part of the year, so there could be more challenges in terms of the weather conditions. We have tried to prepare for all the conditions we could have, but you never know how it will really be until you get there. On this kind of rally it’s always important to have a reliable car, which I think is our strongest point. I was feeling disappointed after Sweden but I’ve been looking forward, preparing for this rally and to do my best to get a good result for the team. This is my next target and I’m feeling good.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux

“I’m really pleased to be back in Kenya! I missed it last year, but I had quite a good result in 2021. The feeling and the atmosphere of this rally, with the wildlife and the amazing people living there, is really special.

“We know it’s going to be a tough event with the rainy season, and I think we’ll see a very different Kenya than in the last few years. There are many things that can happen on this event this year, so let’s see and try to deliver a good result on this rally. We want to try to keep third in the championship, keeping close to the others, that’s the main goal for now.”

Grégoire Munster

“I’m really looking forward to Kenya because it’s a rally I really appreciate, I had the chance to do it last year in the Rally2. I also competed on the classic rally with Jourdan in historic cars recently. It’s such a challenge to drive there, you can be fast in some sections but you also need to be really cautious in others, it makes the adventure so beautiful.

“The environment in which we are driving feels a bit like a dream with the wildlife and the nature. The weather changes can happen so quickly, if it rains it is often very heavy and it alters the whole profile of the stage. That makes it a big challenge and that’s why Rally Kenya is so difficult and so enjoyable for drivers at the same time.”

Jourdan Serderidis

“Kenya is definitely one of my best memories and my best result so far in WRC, so I did not see any reason why not to enjoy the event one more time! I look forward to working close to my friend Grégoire again and with our fantastic Puma Rally1.”

WRC2

Oliver Solberg

“There’s definitely something very special about the Safari – and especially at this earlier time of the year. We have snow again here in Sweden, so going from here to the heat of Africa is so different and that variety of landscape and terrain is just what we need in the world championship.

“I love the Safari. It’s really a unique event in the championship – every stage can be like a different rally, the variety across the route is huge. The roads are amazing and the chance to drive through a place where the elephants are close – but not too close – is something very, very special.

“I have done some gravel testing since Sweden, so I have this surface a little bit in my mind now, but I’m not sure the roads were like the ones in Kenya. We will do the official test on Sunday, that’s when we can take a good feeling for the set-up. Last year was so enjoyable, it’s good that Elliott and I have that experience. But this year could be a little bit different with the weather. Nobody really knows what’s coming, I think it’s just before the rainy season – will it rain? I think the one thing we can say is that it will be quite hot.

“The other thing we can say is that we’re going to have a lot of competition. There’s a really good number of cars in WRC2, which is great. For me, the priority is 100% on 25 points. To achieve that, we need a good, clean rally with a big focus on every stage.”

Summary

We are set then for a spectacular rally and with all the Rally1 cars likely to be running the key piece of equipment for this rally only, the return of the snorkel to the top cars is a nod to the likely heavy rain that will be falling on the stages throughout the weekend.