Rovanperä found strong pace for the first time on Friday on the Kengen Geothermal stage, setting the fastest time with a 1.1-second margin over Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. However, Neuville was penalised 10 seconds for a jump start.
Rally leader Ott Tänak of Hyundai set the third-fastest time on the stage, finishing 1.3 seconds behind Rovanperä.
This meant that Rovanperä wasn’t able to significantly reduce his gap to the front. He remains third overall, now trailing Tänak by 44.1 seconds.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, who encountered problems in the morning, bounced back with a solid run, going fourth-fastest and just 2.9 seconds off Rovanperä’s benchmark.
Elfyn Evans, also driving for Toyota, was sixth-fastest, 5.2 seconds off the pace. The Welshman, who leads the championship standings, holds second place overall, now 19.3 seconds behind Tänak. Evans was outpaced on the stage by Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, though the Frenchman remains well behind in the overall standings due to his retirement on Thursday.
In the overall classification, Neuville sits in fourth place, over one and a half minutes off the lead. M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean continues in fifth.
The drivers’ “media silence” remained in effect, and WRC’s usual stage-end interviewer had been stood down for the time being. Only a cameraman was present in the finish area to film the cars and any potential damage.
Five more stages are scheduled for Friday in the Safari Rally Kenya. The event concludes on Sunday.
Safari Rally Kenya standings after SS5/21:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 57:24.1 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +19.3 |
| 3. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +44.1 |
| 4. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +1:33.1 |
| 5. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +1:34.9 |
| 6. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +2:22.4 |
| 7. | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Toyota | +2:59.4 |
| 8. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +3:05.9 |
| 9. | Gus Greensmith | Skoda | +3:15.4 |
| 10. | Jan Solans | Toyota | +3:30.6 |
| 11. | Diego Dominguez | Toyota | +3:39.9 |
| 12. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +4:09.5 |
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
