The day began with a fierce challenge: the 27-kilometre Sleeping Warrior stage, which was in rough condition. A long muddy section early in the stage forced drivers to tread carefully in order to make it through without issues.
The stage quickly separated the contenders from the rest, with time gaps growing large. But it was the factory Toyota drivers who truly shone in the tough opening test.
Neuville, however, ran into problems when a tyre failed on his Hyundai. The Belgian was forced to stop mid-stage to change the wheel with his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe.
He eventually lost over two and a half minutes to stage-winner Elfyn Evans. Roughly half of that gap came from the tyre change, while the other half was down to pace alone.
Evans, who leads the rally, set the fastest time on Sleeping Warrior, beating his Toyota teammate Kalle Rovanperä by 8.2 seconds. In the overall standings, Evans now holds a 15.9-second lead over Rovanperä.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta was third fastest through the stage, losing just over half a minute to Evans. Hyundai’s Ott Tänak was the best non-Toyota driver, though he still dropped 40 seconds to the Welshman.
Toyota’s double lead at the top was further solidified, with Tänak now sitting more than a minute and a half behind Evans in third. Katsuta moved up to fourth overall, leapfrogging Neuville, who is now over four minutes off the lead.
Sami Pajari remains sixth overall, trailing the leader by around six minutes. M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean, on the other hand, had to give up his seventh place on Sleeping Warrior – the Irishman did eventually reach the finish, but had lost around half an hour in the process.
Five more special stages are scheduled for Saturday in Kenya. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Safari Rally Kenya standings after SS11/21:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | 2:17:05.4 |
| 2. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +15.9 |
| 3. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +1:35.8 |
| 4. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +4:00.9 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +4:12.0 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +5:54.0 |
| 7. | Gus Greensmith | Skoda | +7:18.8 |
| 8. | Jan Solans | Toyota | +8:01.0 |
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 (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 (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 (15 min)
09:56 SS20: Oserengoni 2 (18.33 km)
12:15 SS21: Hell's Gate 2 (10.53 km) *Power Stage
