Safari Rally Kenya – Rovanperä and Toyota, power 4!

The man of this African weekend is him. Kalle Rovanperä, 21, wins the first Safari Rally of his career, in Kenya. The Finn wins for the fourth time this season at the wheel of his Toyota Yaris. At the end of a mastered event, at the top of the rally since Friday evening, the leader of the world championship has shown the full extent of his talent and maturity on eventful special stages. 

Kalle Rovanpera wins brilliantly, Ogier finished 4th and Loeb 8ème

WRC Kenya Rally

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- CANAL + Sport (@CanalplusSport) June 26, 2022

Kalle Rovanperä also leads a historic quadruple for Toyota. The Japanese team places its four cars in the first four rows, a first since the 1993 Safari Rally!

Elfyn Evans, 2nd, reached the second podium of her season after that of Portugal and moved back into the top 5 for the championship. He is ahead of Takamoto Katsuta who returns to the podium in Kenya, after his 2nd place in 2021. The last Toyota, that of Sébastien Ogier, finished 4th. The French driver, leading the rally on Friday, was unable to defend his chances because of a fatal puncture during SS7.

The #GRYaris Rally1 finishes 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th at the legendary #SafariRallyKenya! 🇰🇪🏆🙌

🥇 @KalleRovanpera 🇫🇮 @JonneHalttunen 🇫🇮
🥈 @ElfynEvans (I.e. @scottmartinat 🇬🇧
🥉 @TakamotoKatsuta 🇯🇵 @AaronJ_CoDriver (I.e.
4 X @SebOgier ???????? @BenVeillas ????????#ToyotaGAZOORacing #WRC pic.twitter.com/w3B5YRYEkw

- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) June 26, 2022

Toyota shines, Hyundai and M-Sport in the shadows in Kenya

In the Manufacturers' standings, Toyota continues to take off, now 62 points ahead of Hyundai. The Korean firm experienced a nightmare weekend in Kenya. First lacking rhythm on Friday, Thierry Neuville, Ott Tänak and Oliver Solberg all suffered several mechanical problems. Tänak was not even able to see the finish of the rally on Sunday, after a final retirement due to power steering failure.

Thierry Neuville still managed to finish the Safari Rally with 5th place and the Power Stage points, a small consolation. Behind the Belgian, we find three Fords M-Sport with different destinies. Craig Breen had a very difficult race: not spared by his mechanics, he scored the points for 6th place but far, very far from the pace of the best.

#WRC (I.e. @thierryneuville and @MWydaeghe convert their never-give-up attitude into 5th overall at @wrcsafarirally following an eventful rally for the Belgian pairing in Kenya. They also add five points by winning the concluding power stage.#HMSGOfficial #SafariRallyKenya pic.twitter.com/rwmnmFviWx

— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) June 26, 2022

For the first entry of a private car in the hybrid era, Jourdan Serderidis finished in an astonishing 7th place. The Greek, far from the times of other drivers, avoided all the pitfalls to finish the Safari in the points. 

Sébastien Loeb did not have the rally he hoped for in Kenya after his retirement on Friday with an engine problem. The Alsatian is in 8th place, with 3 scratch times to his credit. Speaking to Canal+, the nine-time world rally champion said he wanted to take part in the next Rally of Greece (September 8-11), but that nothing had yet been made official.

Sébastien Loeb: “Maybe see you in Greece”

WRC Rallies of Kenya

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The last Frenchman, Adrien fourmaux, finished his 2nd Safari Rally outside the points. Victim of two retirements in two days, the Northerner was once again unlucky despite an honorable pace in the special.

In the World Drivers' Championship, Kalle Rovanperä is now 65 points ahead of Thierry Neuville and 83 over Ott Tänak, before the next Rally Estonia, from July 14 to 17.

The final ranking of the Safari Rally: 

The Power Stage ranking: 

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