Scott Martin after the victory in Kenya: "Elfyn Evans drove remarkably well"

What is your feeling after this success at the Safari?

It's definitely very nice to think that we've just won such an iconic event. When I was a mechanic at M-Sport, I've never had the opportunity to follow this leg. Even in 2002, for the last edition, I didn't manage to do it. So I was very happy when this destination was added to the calendar. Taking part was already very existing, but having it on my CV is really special.

Does the way this edition unfolded make this success even more memorable?

Absolutely! From the reconnaissance, we understood that it wasn't going to be easy to get through all the problems. We avoided almost all of them and the two punctures we suffered didn't cost us too much time. You do need a bit of luck, but Elfyn also drove remarkably well. He managed to be gentle with the car while still negotiating the traps well. There's a bit of a lottery in Kenya. Sometimes you try to drive carefully and still have problems or a puncture without really knowing why. The rain that fell on Saturday afternoon made life impossible for us, but we managed to get through these three time trials without too much damage. We also had an animal right in front of us at least five times... I enjoy the Safari, but I'm also happy that there's only one on the program (laughs).

For a co-driver, is the Safari different to approach from a European event?

The division first of all forced us to experience very short nights. Then, the terrain itself is a challenge. Sometimes you can't tell where you are. The grass is often so high that you can't even see the road. This results in notes that mean nothing. They were made during the reconnaissance, and perhaps since then several lines have been created by other competitors. You can manage to take a route that's faster, but it can also be more brittle. You have to try to favor what's least "dangerous" for the car. What I find really complicated is having carried out our reconnaissance in the dry and seeing the rain arrive and turn everything into a quagmire.

Comments collected by Loïc Rocci

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