- Rovanperä led on both day two and three
- He won by a margin of more than a minute
- Greensmith won the WRC2 Category
Finland’s Kalle Rovanperä successfully defended his WRC Safari Rally title, retaining his lead on the final day to win by a margin of a 1m 37.8s.
In by far the most gruelling FIA World Rally Championship round so far this season, it was Rovanperä’s meticulous balance of both speed and maturity that ultimately secured his 12th career victory.
Rovanperä , co-driven by Jonne Halttunen, built a lead of almost one minute after winning all of Friday’s rock-strewn stages around Lake Naivasha, then kept his nose clean to end Saturday two minutes clear as the chasing pack ran into mechanical troubles and tyre damage.
That buffer allowed the two-time WRC champion to drive for a finish in Sunday’s final leg, which culminated amid stunning scenery at Hell’s Gate with Kenyan President William Ruto in attendance.
Takamoto Katstuta completed a Toyota GR Yaris 1-2 as the Japanese marque extended its manufacturers’ championship lead to four points over Hyundai Motorsport, while M-Sport Ford Puma hotshot Adrien Fourmaux bagged his second consecutive podium 47.3s behind.
“It’s always special to win here,” Rovanperä beamed. “Also, a legendary event for Toyota. We’ve always been so good here and that’s continuing. Like they say in Africa: the car in front is always a Toyota!
Rovanperä delighted with team support
Kalle Rovanperä on stage celebrating with Champagne. PHOTO/WRC
“A big thanks to the team, everybody made a big effort to make the car work so well. I think me and Jonne did a good job, I don’t think you can have a better Safari Rally than we did. No issues, clever driving and I think it was a good effort.”
Elfyn Evans ended Friday in contention for a podium but a fraught Saturday, which saw the Welshman stop twice to carry out stage-side wheel changes, meant he finished over four minutes back from his team-mate Rovanperä in fourth overall. He remains second in the drivers’ championship behind leader Thierry Neuville, who trailed him by almost six minutes in fifth.
Neuville now heads Evans by six points but endured a troublesome week aboard his Hyundai i20 N. Fuel pressure problems on Saturday cost the Belgian several minutes and suspension damage on Sunday, inflicted by a rock on the racing line, added insult to injury. His colleagues, Esapekka Lappi and Ott Tänak fared worse.
Lappi’s problems included two broken gearboxes over the course of the week while Tänak could only climb back to eighth overall behind WRC2 runners Gus Greensmith and Oliver Solberg after his car sustained broken suspension on Friday.
Completing the top 10 were gentleman driver Jourdan Serderidis in a Puma and Škoda Fabia Rally2 star Kajetan Kajetanowicz.
Greensmith wins WRC2 title
Gus Greensmith on stage celebrating with his co driver. PHOTO/WRC
Meanwhile, Gus Greensmith got his WRC2 campaign off to the perfect start after winning the FIA World Rally Championship’s premier support category by 1m 23.1 in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
The odds were stacked against the Briton early in the rally. He battled flu-like symptoms through Friday’s opening leg on rough gravel roads around Lake Naivasha but charged to a commanding lead of more than three minutes after his main rival Oliver Solberg haemorrhaged time with punctures.
Solberg fought back to finish second in his similar car, winning 11 of the rally’s 19 stages, but the deficit was ultimately too large to overcome. Greensmith was able to cruise through the closing kilometres, netting a mighty sixth-place overall result in the process.
“I don’t know what I’m more proud of: not shi*ting myself on Friday or winning the rally!” Greensmith joked. “It’s been a long week but I’m really, really happy. Thank you to the [Toksport] team this weekend, they’ve been perfect.”
Solberg posted the fastest time in the Wolf Power Stage, extending his lead in the championship while duly collecting the FORUM8 WRC2 Most Stage Wins Award. He finished more than seven minutes clear of third-placed Fabia man Kajetan Kajetanowicz, who also took the spoils in WRC2 Challenger.
Safari debutants Nicolas Ciamin and Charles Munster placed fourth and fifth respectively, both driving Hyundai i20 N Rally2 cars. Behind them was Daniel Chwist followed by local driver Carl Tundo, winner in the WRC Masters Cup contingent. As the sole finisher, Hamza Anwar secured maximum points in WRC3.
-Additional reporting courtesy WRC Website
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