Evans kicked off Saturday’s stages from second place but suffered a significant time loss right on the morning’s first special stage. Evans had to stop for a tire change, which cost him nearly two minutes.
Due to the tire operation, the Welshman fell from second to fifth, almost three minutes behind rally leader Kalle Rovanperä.
“Seemed to have a rear left puncture, didn’t feel like it at first and then sure enough it was. It was too long to drive it out,” Evans lamented.
Having pulled a substantial lead on Friday, Rovanperä drove somewhat cautiously through the nearly 30-kilometer Soysambu stage. Rovanperä was 5.2 seconds behind his teammate Takamoto Katsuta‘s fastest time.
“Not easy for sure. I tried to be a bit careful, there’s so many rocks. Not easy to find the limit. I had a bit of dust and lost a few seconds in there as well,” Rovanperä recounted.
Katsuta moved up to second in the competition due to Evans’ troubles. The Japanese is just under a minute behind Rovanperä.
Taking over the third place was Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, the championship leader, who is 14.6 seconds behind Katsuta.
“Was a good stage. I’m happy with my stage, always tried to keep it in the middle of the road,” Neuville chatted.
On Saturday, the Safari Rally will continue with five more special stages. The competition concludes on Sunday.
Below is a summary of Friday afternoon’s events in the Kenya Safari Rally. The competition’s standings and schedule are below the video.
Standings in the Kenya Safari Rally after SS8/19:
1. Kalle Rovanperä Toyota 1:33:40.3 2. Takamoto Katsuta Toyota +55.6 3. Thierry Neuville Hyundai +1:10.2 4. Adrien Fourmaux Ford +1:52.7 5. Elfyn Evans Toyota +2:42.1 6. Gus Greensmith Skoda +8:45.1 7. Gregoire Munster Ford +8:49.6 8. J. Serderidis Ford +11:10.3 9. Oliver Solberg Skoda +11:45.4 10. K. Kajetanowicz Skoda +12:26.6
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
