Safari Rally Kenya – Triumph for Kalle Rovanperä and Toyota, excellent podium for Adrien Fourmaux

Safari Rally Kenya 2024 ranking:

Drivers Championship:

Manufacturers:

• Toyota remains the master of the savannah! The Japanese manufacturer, undefeated since the return of the legendary African event to the calendar WRC in 2021, dominated the debates thanks to the Finnish duo Kalle Rovanperä-Jonne Halttunen. The outgoing double world champions led operations (practically) from A to Z and avoided pitfalls to achieve a second success in Kenya after 2022.
• As in 2021, Takamoto Katsuta recorded his best result in WRC with 2nd position. The Japanese was not the fastest but he was more spared from damage than his competitors.
• French Adrien fourmaux (M-Sport Ford) continues to impress at the start of the 2024 season. Almost two months after his first WRC podium on Swedish snow, the Northerner, associated with Alexandre Coria, does it again on African soil (3rd). At 28 years old, Adrien Fourmaux confirms his maturity by scoring more points than stars of the rally as Ott Tänak !
• To Hyundai, the correction is severe. The i20 Rally1 suffered a series of robustness concerns on one of the roughest terrains of the season: transmission, suspension, and the inevitable punctures all affected the three drivers of the South Korean brand. There is hardly more than Thierry Neuville to keep your head out of the fesh-fesh. The Belgian finished 5th and limited the damage to the championship thanks to points collected on the Sunday specials. For Ott Tänak and Esapekka Lappi, the final result was disappointing but they also scored points on the Sunday stage.
• In WRC2, success went to Gus Greensmith (Skoda). The Englishman mainly fought against himself because he was suffering from the flu. The podium is completed by Oliver Solberg (Skoda) and Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Skoda). Frenchman Nicolas Ciamin (Hyundai) finished 4th, a great performance for someone who was discovering Kenya.
• The next round of the WRC is scheduled for Croatia (asphalt), from April 18 to 21.
• Find the analysis of the Safari Rally Kenya 2024 by our special correspondent in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands.

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