Sebastien Ogier emerged victorious in the Safari Rally Kenya, defeating Kalle Rovanperä, as Toyota secured a 1-2-3-4 finish for the second consecutive year. Elfyn Evans claimed the final spot on the podium, followed by Takamoto Katsuta, enabling Toyota to replicate their perfect finish from the previous year’s Safari Rally.
Rovanperä’s second-place finish, coupled with his third-place result in the powerstage, extended his lead in the championship standings. He now holds a 37-point advantage over Thierry Neuville. However, the competition for second place remains tight, with only five points separating Neuville in second and Ogier in fifth.
Ott Tänak of M-Sport led the rally after Thursday’s superspecial stage, narrowly ahead of Ogier. However, once the rally entered the wilderness, Ogier’s Toyota took the lead and maintained its position throughout the event. Ogier made a bold tire choice, carrying only one spare while others had two, which gave him an advantage on Friday. From then on, he focused on minimizing risks and protecting his lead.
Rovanperä made a strong push on the first stage of Sunday, narrowing the gap and reigniting the battle for the lead. However, Ogier responded impressively on the following stage, recovering his lost time and an additional half a second to regain control of the event. Despite encountering challenges such as losing his tailgate and a rock breaking his windshield on the final stage, Ogier secured victory by a mere 6.7 seconds, the closest margin in Safari Rally history.
Following his setback on Saturday when his car momentarily cut out, Evans finished in third place, which was a commendable result. Katsuta, on the other hand, missed out on a podium finish for the first time in his World Rally Championship (WRC) career.
Dani Sordo, driving for Hyundai, achieved the highest non-Toyota finish in fifth place. Tänak’s rally never fully recovered after a puncture early on, while Pierre-Louis Loubet, Tänak’s teammate, matched his best result of the season in seventh place.
Neuville faced difficulties throughout the weekend, ultimately finishing in eighth after suspension issues forced him to retire. His Hyundai teammate Esapekka Lappi experienced even greater challenges, encountering propshaft failure twice and retiring from third position.
In the WRC2 category, Kajetan Kajetanowicz secured victory in his Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo, also earning ninth place overall. Oliver Solberg claimed the final championship point in 10th place but competed in Kenya solely for experience and not WRC2 points.
