Neuville initially limped along powered only by the electric motor but later made repairs to the car with co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe during the stage. Eventually, Neuville reached the end of the special stage, but not without accruing over seven more minutes behind the leader.
In the overall standings, Neuville’s gap to the front has expanded to 11 minutes. It’s still uncertain whether the Belgian will be able to complete the day’s final 36-plus kilometre special stage. Neuville refrained from commenting on his situation at the stage’s end.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä continues to lead the rally ahead of the last special stage on Saturday. Rovanperä can afford to be cautious on the monstrous Sleeping Warrior stage, as his teammate Takamoto Katsuta in second place is well over two minutes behind. M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux holds the third position, just over half a minute behind Katsuta.
“I’m just trying to be extra careful. It feels, even at a slow pace, that there are more bumps than you would expect,” Rovanperä shared.
“Yeah, just very very careful through the stage. Everything is fine. Just wanted to make sure we get through the stage,” Katsuta echoed.
Despite his difficulties, Neuville remains in fifth place in the rally but must contend with a damaged car against WRC2’s Gus Greensmith and Oliver Solberg, who are in sixth and seventh places overall, respectively.
One more special stage is scheduled in the Safari Rally on Saturday. The competition concludes on Sunday.
Standings in the Kenya Safari Rally after SS12/19:
1. Kalle Rovanperä Toyota 2:28:22.4 2. Takamoto Katsuta Toyota +2:17.7 4. Adrien Fourmaux Ford +2:52.4 6. Elfyn Evans Toyota +3:35.1 5. Thierry Neuville Hyundai +11:07.5 6. Gus Greensmith Skoda +13:28.6 7. Oliver Solberg Skoda +15:45.7 8. K. Kajetanowicz Skoda +19:01.3 9. J. Serderidis Ford +19:49.8 10. Ott Tänak Hyundai +22:16.9 11. Nicolas Ciamin Hyundai +22:47.6
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
