Safari Rally – Shakedown: Thierry Neuville takes the lead

The weekend begins with a smile in the clan Hyundai on the Safari Rally. The third round of the World Rally Championship officially began this Thursday morning with a 6,31-kilometer shakedown in Nawisa. The crews faced a muddy course this morning, with some particularly muddy sections. Overall, the sun was shining, although rain is forecast for the weekend, especially for Friday and Saturday. On the first pass, Adrien fourmaux and Elfyn Evans had set the benchmark at 4:38.6, each posting the same time. The times logically improved significantly on the next run, with the benchmark dropping to 4:34.9, set by the winner of the Rally Monte Carlo Oliver Solberg. Some chose to stop there after this Shakedown, others to continue with a third run: what Thierry Neuville fit. By signing a time of 4:33.1, the 2024 World Champion has therefore definitively claimed this first highlight of the Kenyan weekend and thus ahead of Oliver Solberg at the finish, thanks to his time previously mentioned, then Sami Pajari in 4:35.3.

Thierry Neuville in front of the Toyotas

The dominance is more attributable to ToyotaEven so, for the second time this season after Sweden, Thierry Neuville topped the Shakedown timesheets. In WRC2, Andreas Mikkelsen wasted no time and claimed the benchmark time (4:53.9) on his return to the World Rally Championship, ahead of Romet Jürgenson (4:54.5) and Diego Dominguez (4:55.3). These three were the only drivers to break the five-minute barrier. The first stage of the rally will start at 14:05 PM French time (16:05 PM local time). Two stages will be run today, starting with a challenging first run through Camp Moran (24,35 kilometers), followed by the first run through Mzabibu (8,86 kilometers). World Championship leader Elfyn Evans should logically start in first position this afternoon and will therefore perhaps have some sweeping to do on sections already covered last year and still marked by last year's rally.

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WRC – Safari Rally
WRC1 Shakedown standings

WRC2 Shakedown standings