On Sunday morning’s opening stage, Rovanperä was over 20 seconds behind the fastest time, but with Takamoto Katsuta, who is second in the event, suffering a puncture, the Finnish star’s lead remained over two minutes.
“Not really nice. More rough and rocky than last year, trying to go around and sneak through the stage,” Rovanperä stated.
M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux, who is in third place, also focused solely on securing his second consecutive podium finish. Elfyn Evans, who is in fourth place and chasing extra points on super Sunday, was surprised by the pace of others. Evans was over ten seconds behind Thierry Neuville‘s fastest time on the short stage.
“I was thinking it was better, but clearly the guys don’t care about the cars or the tyres,” Evans lamented.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak started the day with the second-fastest time but didn’t have the best start to super Sunday, as the Estonian received a five-minute time penalty for being late to a time control. As a result, Tänak’s gap to the leader after the opening stage is over 50 seconds.
“Can’t be much less demanding for me. It’s so rough. Even with nothing to lose, it doesn’t feel natural to push. Just hope the teeth stay in the mouth,” Tänak summarized.
Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi‘s streak of bad luck continued with a puncture. However, the tire deflated slowly, so Lappi didn’t need to change it. Despite his problem, Lappi was the third fastest on the Malewa stage. With only one spare tire, Lappi must drive the last two stages of the loop very cautiously.
Five more special stages remain in Kenya on Sunday.
Below is a summary of Sunday morning’s events in the Kenya Safari Rally. The competition’s standings and schedule are below the video.
Standings in the Kenya Safari Rally after SS14/19:
1. Kalle Rovanperä Toyota 2:55:11.9 2. Takamoto Katsuta Toyota +2:10.3 4. Adrien Fourmaux Ford +3:06.6 6. Elfyn Evans Toyota +5:22.0 5. Thierry Neuville Hyundai +11:24.2 6. Gus Greensmith Skoda +15:17.6 7. Oliver Solberg Skoda +17:19.1 8. K. Kajetanowicz Skoda +21:49.8 9. J. Serderidis Ford +22:25.7 10. Ott Tänak Hyundai +22:28.4
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
