Kalle Rovanperä, towards a second success in Kenya?

Kalle Rovanperä produced a perfect copy during this first real day of competition of the Rally from Kenya. He, who is having an intermittent season, does not seem to be bothered by the long breaks. From the outset, the Finn stood out by setting the best time in the first special on Friday. The rhythm was there, the desire too. The reigning double world champion then continued to push and achieved all the scratches of the day. The pilot Toyota emerged as the clear leader in front of everyone. He arrived at the service park 56 seconds ahead of his teammate Elfyn Evans, his runner-up this evening.

Unlike pilots Hyundai (Esapekka Lappi and Ott Tänak had to give up, Thierry Neuville suffered a puncture), Kalle Rovanperä was able to tame the dry and bumpy roads of Kenya. “It was quite a good day for us, rejoices the double world champion WRC. I felt we could ride at a good pace, attacking when we could. This afternoon, we had to pay attention to tire wear. And considering that, the times were really good. There are definitely places where you know you need to slow down. We still had a few surprises. »

The pace will be high again this afternoon! 🚁#ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris #WRC #SafariRallyKenya (I.e. pic.twitter.com/LgGUq5OApu

- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) March 29, 2024

A more complicated Saturday in sight?

Despite a comfortable lead, nothing is yet decided on these particularly rough Kenyan roads, especially since rain is forecast for this Saturday, which will make everything more complex. “I think the weather forecast is calling for rain tomorrow afternoon but I haven't checked yet. We'll see the audience this evening." continues Rovanperä.

Saturday's day is very technical, with big special stages in sight, in addition to being long (150,88km). Drivers will have to be extra vigilant if they do not want to miss an opportunity to distance themselves from their competitors. “The Sleeping Warrior special stage (SS10 and SS13) is undoubtedly the most difficult of the rally. If rain falls, anything can happen, even with a comfortable margin in mind. There are still a lot of kilometers left,” tempers the Finn.

ALSO READ > The Safari Rally Kenya 2024 program