Since the Finnish star is only participating in selected rallies this season and doesn’t need to focus on the championship battle, Rovanperä enters each event with victory as his sole objective.
“It’s really exciting to go back to Kenya. It’s been quite a good rally for me and also for our team: we have got some really amazing results there,” Rovanperä refers to the two consecutive quadruple victories.
“The biggest challenge will be to have reliable pace for the whole week, be consistent and stay out of trouble. Rally Sweden didn’t go as planned, so I’m really hungry to get a good result in Kenya.”
Adding an extra layer of intrigue is the event’s change in schedule. For three consecutive years, Kenya’s rally took place in June, but now it has been moved to March. Current forecasts do not predict heavy rains for the early week, but there is a chance of light rain daily.
“It’s going to be interesting to go there at this time of the year, during the rainy season. We expect that it could be much muddier,” Rovanperä notes.
“In the previous years we have seen a bit of rain and it is always really tricky and slippery in those conditions.”
Safari Rally kicks off with a shakedown on Wednesday. The actual event starts on Thursday with a spectator stage near the capital, Nairobi.
The rally will feature 19 special stages, totaling nearly 370 kilometers.
