Category: Motorsport

Welsh rally driver Elfyn Evans extended his lead at the top of the World Rally Championship’s (WRC) standings with a dominant victory at the grueling Safari Rally Kenya on Sunday. The Toyota driver made it back-to-back wins having won the last round in Sweden and now, after three of the 14 rounds, holds a 36-point lead over defending champion Thierry Neuville in the title race.

Evans and co-driver Scott Martin emerged from a grueling 21-stage rally of attrition with victory by 1m09.9s from Hyundai’s Ott Tanak. Reigning world champion Neuville recovered to third, 3m32.0s off Evans, to mark Hyundai’s best-ever Safari result.

However, the day’s biggest shock was the retirement of Finland’s Kalle Rovanperä, who was forced to park his Toyota due to a flat battery after the day’s opening stage. The two-time World Rally Champion had high hopes of salvaging valuable points and clinch his third Safari Rally title in a row, but mechanical failure meant he would leave the African event empty-handed.

Rovanperä showed early promise in the rally and was as close as 7.7 seconds to the lead at one point. However, his hopes of victory took a hit on Saturday morning when two punctures dropped him more than a minute behind his Toyota teammate Evans. Despite pushing hard to recover, further misfortune struck in the afternoon loop when he broke his rear-left suspension against a rock, forcing him to limp through the remaining stages and fall to fifth place.

Evans expressed his joy at securing the hard-fought win, emphasizing the effort his team put in.

Evans, who has finished as runner-up in the WRC championship on four occasions, showcased his skill and composure by driving a controlled race and avoiding the treacherous hazards of the Safari Rally.

“A huge well done to the team,” Evans added. “They did a great job, and I’m proud to be a very small part of Toyota’s history at this special rally.”

Further down the standings, Finland’s Sami Pajari (Toyota) secured fourth place, while his Japanese teammate Takamoto Katsuta had a dramatic end to the rally. Katsuta, who had been on course for a fourth-place finish, rolled his Toyota on the final stage while pushing for crucial bonus points. Thanks to the efforts of nearby spectators who helped get his car back on its wheels, he managed to finish and collect 10 valuable points.

Reflecting on the incident, Katsuta said, “I don’t know what happened. Just sorry for the team, nothing else.”

With the Safari Rally win, Evans now leads the FIA WRC driver’s championships with 88 points as Neuville moved up from fourth place to second on 52 points, with Tanak third on 49.

With the Safari Rally now concluded, the WRC season moves on to the next challenge. The next round of the championship will take place at the end of April with the Rally of the Canary Islands, where Evans will look to extend his impressive start to the season.

During his closing remarks as the curtains fell on the 72nd edition of WRC, President William Ruto said Kenya will build on the success of the 2025 World Rally Championship Safari Rally to make the 2026 edition better further emphasizing that the success will also be used to create opportunities for growth and innovation next year.

“As we look ahead, we invite all of you to join us once again for the 73rd edition of the WRC Safari Rally in 2026. We will continue to build on the success of this year, creating more opportunities for growth, innovation, and excitement for both participants and spectators,” Ruto said.

Elfyn Evans was on fire as  Toyota fought back to claim two top spots on Day 2 of the third leg of the World Rally Championship (WRC), the Safari Rally in Naivasha.

Evans clocked 2:00:45.4 to open a 7.7-second lead at the apex where he eclipsed Day 1 leader, Estonian and Hyundai superman Ott Tanak. His teammate and Safari Rally defending champion Kalle Rovanpera (2:00:53.1) ended the day second as Tanak settled for third in 2:01:40.8.

World champion, Thierry Neuville of Hyundai strived to move from eighth to fourth, reviving his hope for a first-ever podium finish on Kenyan soil.

Carl Tundo was the best-placed Kenyan driver at 16th and the multiple national champion is praying for the heavens to open up on today as he does well on very slippery surfaces.

The drivers tackled eight stages on a challenging day including Camp Moran (31.4km), Loldia (19.11km), Kengen Geothermal (13.18km) and Kedong (15.10km) whose loops were repeated in the afternoon.

The day was characterized by various mechanical breakdowns that frustrated so many drivers, especially Tanak whose dream to keep his top spot on the leaderboard intact was smoked out.

The 2019 world champion lost grip on the eighth stage (Lodia 2), where he had oil problems with his engine.

Tanak’s woes continued at the Kengen Geothermal 2 where he suffered mechanical problems which forced him to move slowly, losing time which dropped him to third.

Tanak had hoped to claw back the lead in the final round at stage 10 (Kedong 2) but he suffered a similar fate to end the day a very frustrated man.

Commenting on his top spot ahead of the Saturday showpiece that will traverse Sleeping Warrior (26.97km), Elmenteita  (17.31km) and Soysambu  (28.97km) Evans stated:

“We are happy to be in the driving seat, we now need to keep the rhythm on this lead, we know we still have a long way to go so we are  holding on and avoiding imminent mistakes.”

Rovanpera, who won three stages of the day, noted that the morning runs did not favour him so he had to step up and salvage the Toyota ship in the noon.

It was a very brutal day for most drivers who suffered broken suspensions and driveshaft problems on the punishing Naivasha landscape.

At Camp Moran, Kenya’s Aakif Virani failed to start after failing his scrutineering test. The stage proved cumbersome for Neuville, Jourdan Serderidis, Gus Greensmith, Pulligilla Naveen and Hamza Anwar who were slapped with various penalties.

Takamoto Katsuta of Toyota also suffered a puncture as well while George Vasilakis had mechanical gremlins.

Toyota’s Sami Pajari, who had a broken window on the opening day also suffered a similar fate at the location.

At Camp Moran 2, run in the afternoon, Oliver Solberg got completely stuck in the sand and this derailed his effort to compensate for the time lost.

Josh McErlean had a problem with his exhaust, forcing him to stop for the repair after the whole vehicle was engulfed in smoke.

Adrien Fourmaux had a double tragedy as he broke his right suspension and suffered a puncture. Neuville too had little damage on the front of his car.

WRC Safari Rally Day 2 Selected Results

1.    Elfyn Evans (Toyota) 2:00:45.4
2.    Kalle Rovanpera (Toyota) 2:00:53.1
3.    Ott Tanak (Hyundai) 2:01:40.8
4.    Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) 2:02:16.8
5.    Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) 2:04:11.8
6.    Sami Pajari (Toyota) 2:05:04.5
7.    Joshua McErlean (Ford Puma) 2:06:20.8
8.    Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Toyota) 2:06:39.2
9.    Gus Greensmith (Skoda Fabia) 2:06:49.4
10. Jan Solans (Toyota) 2:07:19.5

Naivasha is coming alive as the Service Park for the WRC Safari Rally is being set up, with teams starting to dock their containers in preparation for the event but also the hoteliers are recording booming business ahead of the event set for March 19-23.

The championship continues to significantly boost hotel occupancies in Naivasha and its surrounding areas with over 100,000 visitors expected next week for the event.

Over the past four years, Naivasha, and by extension, the Moi South Lake Road have witnessed a surge in hospitality infrastructure with hotels springing up, year in year out.

According to Hylise Hotel General Manager John Mburu, his team is prepared for the gigantic assignment in terms of manpower, equipment, stocks and other resources.

“We are as prepared as can be for the Safari Rally. This is now the fifth year doing this, we have learnt from the past years, and from everything that we do, we want to get better at it,” said Mburu.

Mburu continued: “We are very hospitable people, we have 57 rooms with 66 beds, and as we speak, from this Sunday, we are fully booked until after the rally, Monday the 24th of March.”

Asked how his team has coped with the rising demand of bookings, Mburu added: “With the Safari, the challenge is always the timing, people wake up very early and come back very late so, you have to operate 24 hours, including the FNB section, so we have had to boost our manpower.”

Enashipai Resort and Spa, a multi award-winning leisure and conference destination offering authentic African hospitality, will be a key feature of this year’s WRC Safari Rally. The hotel will be one of the places where the world rally officials and race crews will be hosted.

Shem Onyara, Chief Engineer at Enashipai confirmed that all the 135 rooms in their facility are fully booked for the Safari.

Onyara said: “The whole hotel has been taken by the rally drivers and codrivers, so for that weekend, we have already started receiving the crew members who had pre-booked the hotel.”

Onyara reckons that Safari’s return to the WRC calendar in 2021 was a very big blessing to the hotel industry in Naivasha.

“Before the WRC status of Safari, we had one of the most pathetic roads from Naivasha town to Moi South Lake, all the way to KenGen, but then things changed, and the road was recarpeted. As a result, so many businesses have sprung up, so many hotels that have come up along this road and when the Safari is gone the businesses are still there, ”

In 2022, the WRC Safari attracted 80 million TV viewers in 150 countries, making it one of the largest followed motorsport events globally.

During the four-day event in Kenya, fans from all walks of life will make their way to Naivasha, which is usually abuzz with activity.

 Kenya Tourism Board CEO June Chepkemei, on her part, remarked: “Our role as a tourism agency is to encourage the fans to enjoy the sport. For instance, last year, the Safari Rally attracted over 100,000 participants and spectators in Naivasha and greatly impacted the economy, from small and medium enterprises to the signature hotel infrastructure. The event also gave us an opportunity to showcase our beautiful countryside to millions of viewers globally,”

Moi South Lake Road’s luxury hotels like the Enashipai, Sawela Lodge, Lake Naivasha Resort and Sopa Lodge have time and time again witnessed high demand in hotel occupancy.

With the ever rising numbers, including over 7,000 Ugandan spectators, Safari will prosper small and medium businesses, uplifting livelihoods.

For those in the transport industry, including boda boda riders, all roads lead to the rally, where enthusiastic fans wait to be ferried from one spectator stage to the next.

Farmers, local butcheries, eateries, food vendors and bar owners will experience hikes in business. Entertainment companies, the petroleum industry, dancers, artists, and DJs set up in the area to entertain fans during the rally.