Esapekka Lappi‘s string of bad luck continued when his windshield shattered at the start of the long special stage. Lappi had to crawl through the stage, losing over ten minutes to the fastest time. However, Lappi’s race had already been compromised due to a retirement on Friday, so this incident didn’t have much impact.
“Just some glass in my eyes.. on one straight we hit a big bird then later on we hit a second bird. Two different places,” Lappi lamented.
Lappi had already collided with a zebra earlier on Saturday, so luck was certainly not on his side. His teammate Thierry Neuville also had a challenging afternoon, losing over 11 minutes to the leader due to technical issues. However, Neuville managed to finish the day in fifth place.
“We’re gonna keep fighting, we won’t stop there and we’re gonna give our very best,” Neuville stated.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä continues to lead the rally. Rovanperä has a comfortable two-minute lead over teammate Takamoto Katsuta and is in line for a provisional 18 WRC points.
“The lead is now quite good so we took it carefully. Not so enjoyable when you have a big lead and this stage where you go around every rock. We didn’t have hybrid either. Tomorrow is a tough day aswell,” Rovanperä summarized.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans suffered another puncture on the last stage of Saturday afternoon but managed to maintain his fourth position. M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux also had a puncture but didn’t lose much time and remained in third.
“Not a 100% sure, but similar place to last time. I took it careful,” Evans remarked.
The Safari Rally concludes on Sunday, with six more stages to go. Additional points will be awarded to the fastest drivers of the day and to the top performers in the Power Stage.
To secure the provisional points awarded at the end of Saturday, drivers must still complete Sunday’s stages.
Check out the summary of Saturday afternoon’s events at the Kenyan Safari Rally below. The competition’s standings and schedule are listed below the video.
Standings in the Kenya Safari Rally after SS13/19:
1. Kalle Rovanperä Toyota 2:48:50.2 2. Takamoto Katsuta Toyota +2:08.9 4. Adrien Fourmaux Ford +3:13.3 6. Elfyn Evans Toyota +5:35.6 5. Thierry Neuville Hyundai +11:48.6 6. Gus Greensmith Skoda +15:02.0 7. Oliver Solberg Skoda +16:57.0 8. K. Kajetanowicz Skoda +21:15.7 9. J. Serderidis Ford +21:56.4 10. Ott Tänak Hyundai +21:56.4 Safari Rally Itinerary (CET):
Wednesday, March 27th 08:01 Shakedown Loldia (5.40 km) Thursday, March 28th 12:05 SS1: Super Special Kasarani (4.84 km) Friday, March 29th 06:15 SS2: Loldia 1 (19.17 km) 07:33 SS3: Geothermal 1 (13.12 km) 08:26 SS4: Kedong 1 (31.50 km) 10:23 Service (40 min) 11:48 SS5: Loldia 2 (19.17 km) 13:06 SS6: Geothermal 2 (13.12 km) 13:59 SS7: Kedong 2 (31.50 km) Saturday, March 30th 06:01 SS8: Soysambu 1 (29.32 km) 07:05 SS9: Elmenteita 1 (15.08 km) 08:03 SS10: Sleeping Warrior 1 (36.08 km) 10:28 Service (40 min) 12:34 SS11: Soysambu 2 (29.32 km) 13:35 SS12: Elmenteita 2 (15.08 km) 14:33 SS13: Sleeping Warrior 2 (36.08 km) Sunday, March 31st 06:02 SS14: Malewa 1 (8.33 km) 06:52 SS15: Oserengoni 1 (18.33 km) 08:05 SS16: Hell's Gate 1 (10.53 km) 09:18 Service (15 min) 10:20 SS17: Malewa 2 (8.33 km) 11:10 SS18: Oserengoni 2 (18.33 km) 13:15 SS19: Hell's Gate 2 (10.53 km) *Power Stage
