Toyota driver Rovanperä was in good form right from the first lap of the shakedown, where he posted the second fastest time behind Hyundai’s Ott Tänak. The Finnish star set the fastest time on his second attempt.
Neuville matched Rovanperä’s time exactly on his third attempt. The leading duo beat Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi, who finished third on the shakedown, by 0.3 seconds.
World Rally Championship series leader Neuville and reigning champion Rovanperä are starting from different positions in the challenging Kenyan round. Neuville has his sights set on the season as a whole and his first-ever WRC title, while Rovanperä is trying to gather as many points as possible for Toyota in each event he participates in.
However, the Safari always offers surprises and big challenges, so Rovanperä did not speak openly about a top result in connection with the shakedown.
“This is a rally where you normally don’t expect too much before the weekend because you never know what’s going to happen. I don’t want to expect anything too much. I just want to survive the weekend and see where we are. But of course, it has been a good rally for us, so we’ll try to do our best,” Rovanperä said.
Toyota driver Elfyn Evans finished fourth on the shakedown, exactly one second off the lead time. Hyundai’s Tänak, M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux, and Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta were next in line.
The Safari Rally officially starts on Thursday, when the spectator special stage is run in Nairobi.
Safari Rally shakedown results:
1. Kalle Rovanperä Toyota 3:32.1 1. Thierry Neuville Hyundai 3:32.1 3. Esapekka Lappi Hyundai 3:32.4 4. Elfyn Evans Toyota 3:33.1 5. Ott Tänak Hyundai 3:33.7 6. Adrien Fourmaux Ford 3:35.8 7. Takamoto Katsuta Toyota 3:36.0 8. Gregoire Munster Ford 3:40.8 9. Gus Greensmith Skoda 3:45.6 10. Oliver Solberg Skoda 3:46.8
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
