Written by Benjamin Crundwell
The Rally Kenya was more than a competition, as drivers united to protest against the FIA (Fédération Internationale de L’Automobile). From the cockpit, Elfyn Evans surged above the rest, taking his second win this year.
New rules set by the FIA against swearing left the drivers speechless… literally. After Adrien Fourmaux was fined for swearing during Rally Sweden, the members of WoRDA (World Rally Drivers Alliance) released a statement saying the decision was made to ‘remain silent at the live stage end interviews or to answer in our mother tongue.’
Day 1
The rally kicked off on Super Special Stage Kasarani, a 4.76km dual-lane stage, which saw drivers go head to head.
Elfyn Evans continued his good form from Sweden, beating Thierry Neuville in his dual, and going overall fastest in SS1. After completing the stage he said: ‘I’m sorry I won’t be saying much as you understand, it’s a very good start but this is just the beginning.’
The second and final stage of the day was on a technical 8.15km stretch. Going out first, Evans struggled with the worst conditions, he dropped to fifth place, 4.5s off new leader Ott Tänak. While pushing, Takamoto Katsuta slipped over the limit, going deep and having to navigate his way around a shed before rejoining the track. It could have been the lead for the Japanese driver, but instead he finished in second place.
Grégoire Munster’s exceptionally clean run left him in third place, leading the M-Sport drivers. Kalle Rovanperä was only four tenths behind in fourth place. Josh McErlean and Sami Pajari jumped up a spot each, as Neuville caught damage after going up on two wheels - the nightmare start to the season continuing for the reigning world champion.
Neuville wasn’t the only driver having bad dreams, Adrien Fourmaux was stranded at the start of SS2 with electrical problems. Despite the fans best efforts to jump start him, he eventually had to retire his car.
In WRC2, Kajetan Kajetanowicz led Oliver Solberg by 1.3s.
Top 10 after day 1
Ott Tänak -
Takamoto Katsuta + 2.4
Grégoire Munster + 2.6
Kalle Rovanperä + 3.0
Elfyn Evans + 4.5
Josh McErlean + 8.8
Sami Pajari + 9.8
Thierry Neuville + 19.7
Kajetan Kajetanowicz (WRC2) + 22.7
Oliver Solberg (WRC2) + 24.0
Day 2
Friday running turned the tables, as few drivers managed to avoid problems on the rocky roads.
The nightmare continued for Neuville, as he received a one minute penalty for arriving to check in six minutes late, as his team were fixing his car during service. Later he would receive a further 10 second penalty for jumping the start. His fortune turned, managing to win a crazy SS7 by 22.4s, jumping him to fourth at the end of the day, a minute and a half off the lead.
Evans proved that ‘slow and steady wins the race’ (although he was never really going slow). Tänak was charging ahead, building a gap of 46.1s to the Welshman, but he ran into trouble with a broken driveshaft. Evans finished the day with a 7.7 second lead. Tänak’s morning efforts weren’t for nothing, as he managed to retain a spot on the podium, although 55s back from the leader.
Despite losing 15 seconds during a five point turn in SS4, Rovanperä would end the day as Evans’ closest contender, in second place. Rovanperä said he: ‘hoped to be a bit faster in the first two rounds but after that when the stage changed to quite wider and faster, we had some good times.’
Katsuta and Pajari were the victims of SS3, both losing time with punctures. Katsuta ended his day in fifth, three and a half minutes behind the leader, while Pajari was a further 53 seconds back from his Japanese teammate in sixth.
McErlean was the last Rally1 driver to be ahead of all Rally2 drivers, although only by 18 seconds. The Irishman had to stop twice during SS7 as his spare wheel came loose. The other Rally1 driver caught out in SS7 was Adrien Fourmaux, who had to stop, after a puncture led to suspension damage.
Munster suitably captioned a post: ‘never give up!’ up on Instagram, as he struggled with mechanical problems throughout the day. Almost eight minutes back, Munster would need a clean weekend to get back into the points.
Solberg jumped up to sixth overall in the morning, with a big lead in WRC2, however he was another culprit of SS7, getting stuck in the fesh fesh despite not leaving the road. Kajetanowicz retook the lead, but with just a 10 second lead to Gus Greensmith.
Top 10 after day 2
Elfyn Evans -
Kalle Rovanperä + 7.7
Ott Tänak + 55.4
Thierry Neuville + 1:31.4
Takamoto Katsuta + 3:26.4
Sami Pajari + 4:19.1
Josh McErlean + 5:35.4
Kajetan Kajetanowicz (WRC2) + 5:35.4
Gus Greensmith (WRC2) + 6:04.0
Jan Solans (WRC2) + 6:34.1
Day 3
The Rally Kenya is all about survival, rather than being fast. On Saturday Evans proved this; only winning two of six stages, and failing to make the top four on another two, yet he extended his lead to just under three minutes, due to his ability to stay out of trouble.
Fighting against windscreen problems, Tänak took second place, as Rovanperä suffered a puncture each in SS12 and SS13, then three more minutes with a broken suspension in the afternoon. Rovenperä dropped to fifth place, six minutes off the lead.
Reigning world champion, Neuville, took to Instagram saying: 'I wasn't feeling well after a bad night and struggled to keep my concentration and do my job' but he did not let this affect him, as he made the podium for the first time in the rally since SS1.
Neuville went on to say: 'Those were some extreme conditions this afternoon - I haven’t seen anything like it in my career. We’ve had some rough Safari Rally Kenyas in the past, but this is the roughest so far.'
Katsuta lost two minutes in SS16 with a puncture, but he still moved up a position to fourth. This was helped by two stage wins, one of which he won by 14.5 seconds, and the other by 15.3 seconds.
A clean day for Pajari helped him keep sixth place, although he still lost three minutes to the leader from not having the pace.
Behind him, Munster jumped from eleventh to first. His day wasn't perfect, as he suffered two punctures in the morning, and another in the afternoon. The day brightened however, as he won SS15 by 12.3 seconds, his second ever stage win.
Fourmaux wouldn't race on day 3, saving his machinery for Sunday when there would be more points available.
In WRC2, Greensmith overtook previous leader, Kajetanowicz, after he got a puncture in the morning. Jan Solans trails him in second, by just 5.8 seconds.
Top 10 after day 3
Elfyn Evans -
Ott Tänak + 1:57.4
Thierry Neuville + 4:33.4
Takamoto Katsuta + 5:06.6
Kalle Rovanperä + 6:06.0
Sami Pajari + 7:00.4
Grégoire Munster + 11:02.0
Gus Greensmith + 12:08.3
Jan Solans + 12:14.1
Jourdan Serderidis + 24:39.1
Day 4
Super Sunday meant extra points were on the table, regardless of overall position. Drivers had to balance how hard they push with keeping their car in one piece. On roads where one rock could destroy their car, anything could still happen.
Rovanperä was the first victim of Kenya on Sunday morning, retiring with an alternator problem before SS18. More drama soon followed in WRC2, as Solans took himself out of winning contention by rolling his car in SS18. This allowed Greensmith to cruise to WRC2 victory, winning by three minutes.
Despite a run in with a hay bale, Katsuta competed with Neuville and Fourmaux in the fight for extra Super Sunday points. The three were separated by less than a second before the final stage.
Unfortunately, Katsuta pushed too hard, rolling his car on the final stage. He was lucky the fans were there to put him back on all four wheels, so he could limp home. He would lose fourth place to Pajari, and drop out the top 10. Katsuta struggled to keep his emotions intact, simply telling the reporter: 'I'm just sorry for my team.'
Neuville appeared to be beating Fourmaux in SS21, but lost two seconds in the final few splits. Fourmaux took the points for winning Super Sunday. Neuville appeared to not be too bothered, happy to finish third overall considering how his rally started.
Tänak drove cleanly on Sunday to retain second place. Despite his gap to Evans being too large to catch, he closed the gap to the leader as best he could, incase Evans had any problems in the final stages.
With a massive lead, Evans drove cautiously through the morning, just needing to reach the end of the rally. The caution paid off, as he won overall, extending his championship lead to 36 points. In the manufacturers, Toyota continue to lead Hyundai.
Top 10 after day 4
Elfyn Evans -
Ott Tának + 1:09.9
Thierry Neuville + 3:22.0
Sami Pajari + 7:18.7
Grégoire Munster + 11:35.3
Gus Greensmith (WRC2) + 14:11.6
Jan Solans (WRC2) +17:26.6
Jourdan Serderidis + 28:45.5
Fabrizio Zaldivar (WRC2) + 35:38.8
Josh McErlean + 37:15.8
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