Rovanperä dominated the challenging event from Friday onwards. On Saturday, he further extended his lead, allowing him to drive conservatively on the final day, Sunday.
The Finnish Toyota driver didn’t hold back on the concluding Power Stage but couldn’t match the pace of the Hyundai drivers. Rovanperä ultimately placed fourth on the final stage, earning an additional two points for Toyota.
Rovanperä celebrated the victory with a one-and-a-half-minute margin over his teammate Takamoto Katsuta, who tied his career-best placement. Toyota once again secured a great overall result from Kenya.
Rovanperä was the only top driver without any extra incidents over the weekend.
“We’ve done a good job, clever driving and many thanks to the team for all their help,” Rovanperä, celebrating his second Safari Rally victory, exclaimed with joy.
M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux finished third in the competition. The Frenchman has been consistently strong this season, achieving a podium finish in two consecutive rounds.
Championship contenders Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville ended up in fourth and fifth places, respectively. Both drivers faced issues during the weekend, which kept them out of the victory battle.
Hyundai driver Ott Tänak, who retired on Friday, and his teammate Neuville scored the highest points (11) from Sunday’s sprint day. Tänak was the fastest driver of the final day, placing second on the Power Stage, while Neuville was Sunday’s runner-up and the fastest on the Power Stage.
Hyundai driver Neuville continues to lead the championship, but Toyota’s Evans is just six points behind the Belgian. Foumaux remains third in the points standings, with Rovanperä moving up to fifth, close behind Tänak.
Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi earned just three points from the Power Stage and one point from Sunday’s sprint day. The winner of the previous rally in Sweden, Lappi had to retire on Friday due to a gearbox failure and faced challenges throughout the other days.
Skoda’s Gus Greensmith won the WRC2 class in the Safari Rally ahead of Oliver Solberg. This was Greensmith’s first rally of the season.
The WRC season continues after mid-April in Croatia, where the season’s first pure tarmac rally will take place.
Below is a summary of Sunday morning’s events in the Kenya Safari Rally. The competition’s results and schedule are below the video.
Standings in the Kenya Safari Rally after SS19/19:
1. Kalle Rovanperä Toyota 3:36:04.0 2. Takamoto Katsuta Toyota +1:37.8 3. Adrien Fourmaux Ford +2:25.1 4. Elfyn Evans Toyota +4:20.2 5. Thierry Neuville Hyundai +10:17.5 6. Gus Greensmith Skoda +18:05.4 7. Oliver Solberg Skoda +19:28.5 8. Ott Tänak Hyundai +21:02.0 9. J. Serderidis Ford +26:13.3 10. K. Kajetanowicz Skoda +26:34.4
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
