Toyota driver Evans set the fastest time on the opening super special stage, which was run in Nairobi. The Welshman posted the quickest time on the Kasarani stage, finishing 1.5 seconds ahead of his teammate Kalle Rovanperä and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who shared second place.
WRC stars stuck to their strategy in post-stage interviews. No proper comments were given, or they were made in the drivers’ native languages.
For example, stage winner Evans commented on his performance in Welsh, while Neuville spoke in French. Rovanperä, on the other hand, gave a brief statement in English.
“No comments this weekend. Thanks to all the fans following us, but we will speak later.”
The interviewer then asked Rovanperä whether this meant he would not be giving comments in Finnish throughout the weekend either.
“Yes,” Rovanperä replied in Finnish.
With their silent protest, the drivers are aiming to shake up the FIA, which recently imposed a €10,000 fine on Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux for swearing during Rally Sweden, citing FIA regulations.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak finished fourth on the opening stage of Safari Rally Kenya, ahead of his teammate Fourmaux. Tänak urged the interviewer to take a holiday, implying that no comments would be coming from him. Fourmaux, meanwhile, simply uttered the well-known Swahili phrase “hakuna matata” – no worries.
Sami Pajari, who finished ninth on the stage, suffered a major crack in his Toyota’s windscreen at the start of the rally. Pajari initially just shrugged at the finish line but later explained the situation in Finnish.
“Right from the first corner, a stone from another car hit the windscreen. It was a bit of a visibility issue since it hit right in the middle, directly in front of me. But there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ll try to improve from here.”
On Thursday, one more special stage remains in Safari Rally Kenya. The competition will conclude on Sunday.
Safari Rally Kenya standings after SS1/21:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | 3:09.0 |
| 2. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +1.5 |
| 2. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +1.5 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +2.2 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +2.5 |
| 5. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +2.5 |
| 7. | Joshua McErlean | Ford | +3.3 |
| 8. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +3.5 |
| 9. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +4.5 |
| 10. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +8.3 |
Safari Rally Kenya, itinerary (CET):
Wednesday, 19 March 08:01 Shakedown: Sleeping Warrior SEZ (5.16 km) Thursday, 20 March 11:05 SS1: Super Special Kasarani (4.76 km) 14:43 SS2: Mzabibu 1 (8.27 km) Friday, 21 March 05:13 SS3: Camp Moran 1 (31.40 km) 06:51 SS4: Loldia 1 (19.11 km) 08:04 SS5: Kengen Geothermal 1 (13.18 km) 08:57 SS6: Kedong 1 (15.10 km) 09:52 Service break (40 min) 11:30 SS7: Camp Moran 2 (31.40 km) 13:08 SS8: Loldia 2 (19.11 km) 14:21 SS9: Kengen Geothermal 2 (13.18 km) 15:14 SS10: Kedong 2 (15.10 km) Saturday, 22 March 06:35 SS11: Sleeping Warrior 1 (26.97 km) 07:35 SS12: Elmenteita 1 (17.31 km) 08:33 SS13: Soysambu 1 (28.97 km) 10:59 Service break (40 min) 13:05 SS14: Sleeping Warrior 2 (26.97 km) 14:05 SS15: Elmenteita 2 (17.31 km) 15:03 SS16: Soysambu 2 (28.97 km) Sunday, 23 March 04:42 SS17: Mzabibu 2 (8.27 km) 05:53 SS18: Oserengoni 1 (18.33 km) 07:05 SS19: Hell's Gate 1 (10.53 km) 08:18 Service break (15 min) 09:56 SS20: Oserengoni 2 (18.33 km) 12:15 SS21: Hell's Gate 2 (10.53 km) *Power Stage
