Yahoo Autos WRC Safari Rally: Ogier leads Toyota 1-2-3-4, but Rovanpera closes in
Teammates Sebastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanpera will go head to head for WRC Safari Rally Kenya victory after Saturday’s final stage blew the lead battle wide open.
On a day when Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 cars topped the timesheets in every one of the six stages run and hold 1-2-3-4 on the overall leaderboard, Ogier (above) looked set to end the penultimate leg comfortably in front of his teammate and reigning FIA World Rally champion Rovanpera.
Frenchman Ogier, an eight-time WRC champ who’s chosen to run only a part-time program in 2023, was happy to measure his pace and keep a watchful eye on those behind after overcoming tire damage on the day’s opening stage. But a sudden downpour in the leg-closing, 19.29-mile Sleeping Warrior 2 test caused chaos. The dry and dusty roads quickly turned to mud and offered minimal grip in conditions more like a snow and ice rally than Africa.
Ogier, the last of the of the overall victory-chasing hybrid Rally1 cars into the stage, was perhaps hit harder by the conditions than any of his rivals, his Yaris limping to the finish line with two slow punctures. It meant his advantage was sliced in half after conceding more than 15s to Rovanpera, and he’ll start Sunday’s six-stage finale just 16.7sec clear at the top.
“Even on the straights, second gear was quite high-speed,” smiled Rovanpera at the finish. “But we are here in one piece and that was the only goal for today.”
Can Kalle Rovanpera chase down teammate Sebastien Ogier on the Safari Rally’s final leg? Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
A repeat of last year’s 1-2-3-4 Safari sweep looks all but guaranteed for Toyota, but which driver will be heading it come Sunday afternoon is anybody’s guess.
There was drama in the battle for the final podium spot, too, after Esapekka Lappi, who held the place until Saturday’s penultimate stage, retired his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 with suspected propshaft failure.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans inherited the position before being passed by teammate Takamoto Katsuta, although the Welshman fared better in the wet weather conditions and moved back in front again. They were separated by 16.7s at the end of the leg, but with Rovanpera more than two minutes further ahead, their Sunday priority is likely to be just maintaining the Toyota 1-2-3-4.
Lappi’s exit, coupled with Thierry Neuville’s Friday retirement, means that Hyundai’s hopes for clinging on to a decent finish now rest on Dani Sordo’s shoulders. The Spaniard trailed Evans by 1m12.3s to hold fifth overnight, with M-Sport Ford’s Ott Tanak almost five minutes behind him in a lonely sixth.
After Friday’s time-consuming wheel change, Tanak’s Safari frustrations continued when he and co-driver Martin Jarveoja stopped their Puma Rally1 in Soysambu 2 to carry out their second change of the weekend. M-Sport teammate Pierre-Louis Loubet held seventh, despite a run-in with a bush in the morning’s final stage, but is 5m17.7s behind Tanak.
Pierre-Louis Loubet holds a lonely seventh place in his M-Sport Ford Puma. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
Of the other Rally1 entries, Neuville restarted Saturday’s second leg and, despite carrying a time penalty for his Friday DNF, holds ninth overall, albeit more than 24 minutes off the lead.
The Belgian’s Hyundai is headed by WRC2 leader Kajetan Kajetanowicz. The Polish ace looks set to repeat his 2022 Safari class win after regaining the lead in international rallying’s second tier on Saturday.
The Skoda Fabia Evo driver, fighting back from a Friday morning tire delamination, was fastest WRC2 car on all three of the morning’s rugged stages to leapfrog overnight leader Gregoire Munster before service.
Munster responded early in the afternoon by reclaiming the top spot with fastest time through Soysambu 2, but heartbreak was to come for the M-Sport Ford Fiesta Mk II driver as he retired after the stage with mechanical failure.
His exit not only elevated Kajetanowicz to first, but also gave him significant room to breathe. He starts Sunday’s final leg more than 10 minutes clear of second-placed Martin Prokop’s Fiesta.
Don’t tempt fate, but Kajetan Kajetanowicz looks set to repeat his Safari WRC2 win. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
Sunday’s six-stage final leg on the southern side of Lake Naivasha consists of three special stages each run twice. The rally-ending, 6.54-mile Hell’s Gate 2 will be the bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage, and could be crucial in the battle for the overall victory between Ogier and Rovanpera.
WRC Safari Rally Kenya, leading positions after Day Two, SS13
1 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h43m49.2s
2 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +16.7s
3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m23.3s
4 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m40.0s
5 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m52.3s
6 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) +8m38.9s
7 Pierre-Louis Loubet/Nicolas Gilsoul (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) +13m56.6s
8 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia Evo – WRC2 leader) +19m53.1s
9 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +24m06.2s
10 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia Evo – RC2/non-points) +24m06.6s
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