Kenya – Tänak solid leader in management, Neuville doubly penalized

At Hyundai, we will definitely have to put all the chances on Ott Tänak to hope to end the series of Toyota in Kenya. And the least we can say is that it's off to a good start, as the Estonian showed great mastery during this Friday morning loop.

Leading since Thursday afternoon and setting his best time on SS2, the 2019 world champion got his day off to a perfect start. Aided by a better road position and the tracks made by Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä ahead of him, Ott Tänak started with two consecutive scratch times. This allowed him to build a lead of more than 15 seconds and thus manage the rest of the morning loop.

Third in SS5, the Hyundai driver finished his Friday morning with a third scratch in four starts, making him the undisputed leader of the Safari 2025. When it was time to return to service, Ott Tänak was almost 25 seconds ahead of Elfyn Evans (24 seconds to be precise) and 4 seconds ahead of Kalle Rovanperä. Enough to attack the afternoon loop with more confidence.

To Thierry NeuvilleThe morning got off to a very bad start with a penalty even before the first start of the day. The Belgian was penalized one minute for checking in late after service. As if that wasn't enough, the reigning world champion received an additional 10 seconds for a false start on SS5. This left him 1'41"1 behind Ott Tänak. He now just has to hope for a slip-up from the riders ahead of him to hope to get back on the podium.

Affected by a battery problem on Thursday, Adrien fourmaux took the start well but with a 10-minute penalty. The Northerner is unsurprisingly last in Rally1, 10'42"9 behind the leader.

General classification after SS6

The complete ranking

ALSO READ > Adrien Fourmaux: "We hope to have answers and find an agreement"