Before this year’s Safari Rally, there was speculation that the competition could become an even tougher test, as the rally is now held during the rainy season.
During the rally’s reconnaissance, social media was awash with pictures and videos of recce cars stuck in mud. Finnish drivers Sami Pajari and Kalle Rovanperä, for instance, had to resort to towing assistance at exactly the same spot.
This created the impression that the Safari Rally could be an extraordinary challenge this time. However, Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi shattered all pre-race expectations with his statement.
“The conditions were not bad. For sure, this one stage where we got the full rain, it was a bit horrible. But that’s to be expected.”
“Other than that, everything was fairly dry. There has been pictures on social media of one place. And that’s basically everything what we had. So all the pictures are from one section of 200 meters which was muddy,” Lappi revealed to RallyJournal.com.
Therefore, it’s possible that the Safari Rally could be run in relatively good conditions, although the risk of rain exists.
“River crossings were dry, which was not the case last year. It can be a full dry rally as well. But it also can be that there is only rain in some particular areas of the stage,” Lappi described.
Hyundai driver Lappi won the previous round of the WRC in Sweden. He does not have as much experience of the Kenyan savannahs as he does of the Swedish snow drifts.
Lappi participated in the Safari Rally for the first time last season. Luck was not on the Finnish driver’s side then, as his car’s propshaft broke several times.
“Well, I’ve finished the shakedown so it’s a lot better than the last year,” Lappi chuckled.
“Speed wise I think we are better, with reliability I hope we are better,” he added.
The Kenya Safari Rally starts on Thursday with a spectator special stage, which is run in Nairobi.
