Kenya – SS3: Tänak consolidates his leadership position, Neuville penalized

The leader is present. In command of this Safari Rally Kenya 2025 since the second special stage which took place on Thursday, Ott Tänak started Friday perfectly. In a tough SS that caused a lot of damage to the competitors, the Estonian managed to avoid the traps to reach the finish in 25'57"3.

Behind him, only two drivers managed to finish within 10 seconds: Thierry Neuville (+2“1) and Elfyn Evans (8“6). The rest of the field was pushed back to at least 24“7 like Kalle Rovanperä, 4th in SS3 and who lost almost ten seconds in the last 4 kilometers.

This 31,40-kilometer special stage caused a lot of damage to the competitors. Grégoire Munster lost a large part of the front bumper of his Ford Puma and apparently suffered a puncture on the right rear, according to him. This is what Takamoto Katsuta suffered, losing more than 2 minutes and 30 seconds to Ott Tänak. The Japanese driver refused to stop to change his wheel and decided to reach the finish line with three wheels. Sami Pajari lost more than three minutes after stopping around the 20th km to change his tire.

SS3 standings

Overall, Ott Tänak still leads the way with 13 seconds over Elfyn Evans, while Kalle Rovanperä is clinging on to 1rd place, 3 seconds behind the Estonian. Josh McErlean and Grégoire Munster complete the top 27. While he finished the special 7 seconds behind, Thierry Neuville is only 5th, 2'1" behind his teammate. He was given a one-minute penalty for checking in late after leaving the service area. Adrien fourmaux got off to a good start with a 10-minute penalty. He is currently 10'27"9 off the lead.

General classification after SS3

The start of SS4 is scheduled for 6:56 a.m.

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