Tänak clocked his third consecutive fastest time, beating his Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville by 1.5 seconds. Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, who sits second overall, was 2.3 seconds off the Estonian’s benchmark.
With the result, Hyundai driver Tänak now holds a 15.4-second lead over Evans at the top of the Safari Rally standings.
“I’m super emotional at the moment so I can’t speak,” Tänak quipped with a smile at the stage-end interview.
His remark was a reference to the ongoing driver protest against the FIA. WRC drivers are refusing to give interviews at stage finishes, after Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux received a fine for swearing during a broadcast interview at Rally Sweden.
Most drivers opted to communicate solely through gestures at the end of Stage 4. For instance, Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä simply gave a thumbs down.
Rovanperä had reason to be disappointed, as he spun on the Loldia stage and lost valuable seconds. In the end, he dropped 17.7 seconds to Tänak’s fastest time.
Rovanperä remains third overall, but his deficit to the rally leader has grown to 45.4 seconds.
M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean is holding fourth place in Kenya, ahead of Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who was handed a one-minute time penalty earlier on Friday for an overrun in service.
Meanwhile, M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster ran into trouble on Friday’s second stage. Munster showed strong pace in the early part of the stage, but from around the halfway point he was forced to crawl to the finish, losing three minutes. He had suffered an impact that damaged the right rear suspension of his car.
There are still six more special stages to be contested on Friday at Safari Rally Kenya. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Safari Rally Kenya standings after SS4/21:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 50:19.4 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +15.4 |
| 3. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +45.4 |
| 4. | Joshua McErlean | Ford | +1:21.1 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +1:23.3 |
| 6. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +1:55.8 |
| 7. | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Toyota | +2:37.4 |
| 8. | Gus Greensmith | Skoda | +2:52.1 |
| 9. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +3:04.3 |
| 10. | Jan Solans | Toyota | +3:04.9 |
| 11. | Diego Dominguez | Toyota | +3:11.2 |
| 12. | Fabrizio Zaldivar | Skoda | +3:41.9 |
| 13. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +3:58.4 |
| 14. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +4:17.4 |
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
