Toyota celebrated victory in Kenya for the fifth time in a row, as Elfyn Evans claimed the win after a challenging weekend.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville secured second and third places on the podium. While Hyundai once again missed out on a Kenyan win, the team managed to reduce Toyota’s lead in the manufacturers’ championship.
Toyota drivers Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta were both forced to retire on the final day, which significantly affected Toyota’s overall points haul.
RallyJournal.com’s journalists Toni Heinonen, Aki Hietavala and Ville Hirvonen rated each top-class driver’s performance on a Finnish school grade scale, where 10 is the best and 4 the lowest possible grade.
Toni Heinonen
Elfyn Evans 9½ (Result: 1st)
The Welshman is really on a roll now! Hands up if you believed before the season started that Evans would kick off the year like this: second, first, first. Not many hands up, I’d guess. Once again, a brilliant performance from the Toyota driver. Evans was practically the only one to avoid major issues and kept clear of mistakes. The season is still young, but Evans has firmly established himself as a title favourite.
Ott Tänak 9 (Result: 2nd)
There’s not much to fault in the Estonian’s performance. Without Friday’s technical issues, Tänak could very well have won in Kenya. But that’s what Safari is about – if something goes wrong, you don’t give up, you keep going. Tänak did just that and earned a fine second place. Easily his best showing of the season so far.
Thierry Neuville 9– (Result: 3rd)
The reigning world champion had quite a dramatic weekend: technical problems, time penalties, sunstroke, stomach issues, and sleepless nights. Despite all that, he grabbed a fantastic third-place finish. You have to take your hat off to that kind of heroic drive, especially given the rough condition he was in!
Sami Pajari 7½ (Result: 4th)
Pajari did exactly what was asked of him: bring the car home in one piece. The Finn didn’t overpush and steered clear of trouble. A smart performance overall, and in the end, the result rose surprisingly high as some of his teammates dropped out on the final day. A solid debut in Kenya.
Grégoire Munster 7+ (Result: 5th)
Munster’s weekend had its fair share of drama, but he made it to the finish without retiring. He matched his best WRC result to date and secured his biggest points haul so far. He also bagged one stage win and some Power Stage points. Despite the challenges, a strong result from Kenya.
Josh McErlean 7– (Result: 10th)
If Munster had a busy weekend, his teammate McErlean had even more on his plate. The tenacious Irishman refused to give up, even when the car seemed ready to call it quits. Alongside co-driver Eoin Treacy, they spent half an hour repairing the car mid-stage before getting back up to speed. A gritty effort that earned him a couple of WRC points on his Safari debut.
Adrien Fourmaux 7½ (Result: 16th)
The Frenchman’s performance – or rather his daily performances – were at least mixed. Retired on Thursday due to an electrical issue, again on Friday with suspension failure, and again on Saturday before even starting the first stage – but then put in a brilliant Sunday. Fourmaux claimed the maximum ten points on Super Sunday, so that earns him a satisfactory grade.
Takamoto Katsuta 4½ (Retired)
You have to feel for Katsuta. He was having a strong weekend despite battling food poisoning, and without Friday’s punctures, he might’ve been in the fight for the win. A solid fourth place was within reach – but a roll on the Power Stage ruined everything. Although he performed well for most of the rally, it’s hard to overlook a mistake like that.
Kalle Rovanperä 6 (Retired)
It’s difficult to assess Rovanperä’s performance with a school grade. He was in the fight for the win on Friday, but from Saturday onward, the issues piled up: tyre problems, rear suspension failure, and finally a retirement on Sunday due to alternator belt. The zero-point result wasn’t really his fault. It just played out that way this time.
Aki Hietavala
Elfyn Evans 10-
The Welshman said it himself – he kept his composure and managed risks well. While others struggled, Evans calmly drove to victory. A small minus because he only picked up two points on Sunday. Then again, maybe that same cautious approach was what sealed the win.
Ott Tänak 9
Second place is a great result for Tänak – and especially for Hyundai. Safari hasn’t traditionally been a strong event for the Korean brand, but now they got two cars on the podium. A commendable performance from the Estonian. Perhaps he could’ve driven a bit more cautiously at the start.
Thierry Neuville 9-
Neuville spent a night in the bathroom during the rally, but once again showed his fighting spirit. After all the difficulties, a podium finish is a fantastic result – and his first ever in Kenya.
Sami Pajari 9-
Seems like good grades are in order! Pajari tackled Kenya for the first time and reached the finish. While others made mistakes or suffered technical issues, Pajari ended up fourth – matching his best result at the top level. A great drive from the young Finn, who kept his cool in brutal conditions.
Gregoire Munster 8+
Pretty much the same story as Pajari. Fifth place is a great result for the Luxembourger. He had suspension issues, tyre problems, and more, but even so he clocked a stage win on Saturday evening and brought home a strong finish.
Josh McErlean 7
The Irishman finished the rally and grabbed a few points. His car had all sorts of issues, and he suffered several punctures too. Still, he collected a couple of points and made it to the end. Not dazzling, but reaching the finish in Kenya on your first try earns a fair grade.
Adrien Fourmaux 7
He might have deserved a weaker grade based on the first two days, but Fourmaux delivered brilliantly on Sunday. He was the fastest driver of the day and also won the Power Stage, collecting ten points for Super Sunday.
Takamoto Katsuta 4
Rolled the car 200 metres into the Power Stage – and with that, a handful of valuable points for Toyota were lost. A frustrating and unfortunately all-too-familiar mistake from the Japanese driver. It’s genuinely disappointing. Rally is really testing the man now.
Kalle Rovanperä 5
Very hard to assess. The pace was there, but a retirement means zero points. You can’t blame the driver for the electrical issue, but it was a frustrating rally once again. Second place was in reach behind Evans, but punctures and suspension failure on Saturday dropped him to fifth. Everything culminated in retirement after a rally full of setbacks. Hard to say if a more cautious approach could’ve prevented the tyre problems.
Ville Hirvonen
Elfyn Evans 10
A perfect ten from the Welshman. He handled the extremely tough conditions better than anyone else. Evans looks like a new man. The removal of hybrid units has freed him, and he’s clearly been the WRC’s best driver so far this season. He already leads the championship by a commanding margin – for example, his teammate Kalle Rovanperä is now 57 points behind.
Ott Tänak 8
A good performance from the Estonian. He got through the demanding rally without major drama. He adjusted his pace wisely once it became clear he couldn’t fight for the win. A very different Tänak compared to early last season. Still, it feels like we haven’t yet seen him at his absolute best. Can he step it up as the season goes on?
Thierry Neuville 8
Got the job done. Like Tänak, he struggled early in the rally, but then things started to click. At times he even showed impressive pace. He also deserves a thumbs up for battling through Saturday despite sunstroke and diarrhoea and barely any sleep.
Sami Pajari 7
At least a decent performance. He wouldn’t have finished this high without others’ issues, but on the other hand, the Finn avoided trouble with great skill. He drove steadily and wasn’t afraid to pick up the pace when needed.
Gregoire Munster 7
Not much to criticise here either. You could tell he’d been at Safari before. He’d done his homework and, like Pajari, avoided the biggest pitfalls. Another thumbs up goes to Munster. It surely wasn’t easy to race, having just lost a close family member before the rally.
Josh McErlean 5
Expectations weren’t particularly high to begin with, but still. At times you had to wonder if the Irishman was even still in the rally.
Adrien Fourmaux 6½
The Frenchman retired once again right at the start. Twice, actually. He drove well on Sunday and won Super Sunday, which bumps up his grade a bit. Otherwise, his performances have been disappointing so far.
Takamoto Katsuta 4
The Safari Rally has usually suited the Japanese driver well, but this time it all went wrong. He was about to collect crucial points for his team on Sunday, when he overdid it early in the Power Stage and rolled his Toyota. He continued, but the car had taken too much damage to make it to parc fermé. Let’s not pile on – Katsuta knows very well how badly he messed up.
Kalle Rovanperä 5
Kalle seemed to attract problems. The electrical failure that led to retirement wasn’t his fault, but he already had issues before that. When your teammate wins without any major trouble or car damage, you have to wonder where things went wrong. The two-time world champion has had a really lacklustre start to the season. Evans was consistently faster even before the bigger problems hit.
