Elfyn Evans emerged as the leader of Safari Rally Kenya after a dramatic and attritional Friday leg that saw frontrunner Ott Tänak fall victim to mechanical issues late in the day. The FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) leader showcased a clean and consistent performance in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, despite not setting a single fastest time.
In true Safari fashion, the rally’s first full day featured eight brutal gravel speed tests across the Great Rift Valley, with few crews emerging unscathed. Over half the Rally1 field suffered issues, serving as a stark reminder of the event’s unforgiving nature.
Tänak had looked unstoppable early on, storming to four stage wins and opening up a lead of nearly one minute. However, disaster struck in the afternoon when a driveshaft failure left his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 with only rear-wheel drive. The Estonian haemorrhaged time across the final two tests, dropping to third overall with an overnight deficit of 55.4sec.
“It’s been a clean and strong day for us,” said Evans. “Maybe we were not always the fastest, but I’m happy to be at the end of the day with no trouble. It was a tough day and this first stage of the loop was especially rough; the chance of damage was high with so many loose rocks. We definitely erred on the side of caution in places and that seems to have paid off, but there’s still a very long way to go. It can be a bit frustrating when you feel that you can go a bit faster and take more risk, but I just keep reminding myself where we are. Tomorrow might be slightly shorter but it’s still not going to be an easy day.”
Evans’ teammate Kalle Rovanperä, just 7.7sec adrift in second, might have been leading himself but for a spin on a particularly narrow section of the Kedong stage, which saw him lose time trying to get his car pointed in the right direction. Aside from that mishap, the Finn also enjoyed a relatively drama-free day.
“It’s a shame for Ott, obviously, to have a mechanical [failure] like that,” Evans added. “You never know in this game if it’s because the car has had an impact or if it’s just a standard failure, but it’s a shame for him because he was going well.”
Reigning champion Thierry Neuville’s day began with a one-minute penalty after his i20 N was delayed leaving service due to a gearbox change. More issues followed, including a jump start (+10sec), a debeaded tyre, and a further 50sec penalty for lateness to SS8 after another technical glitch. Despite the setbacks, Neuville reached the overnight halt in fourth, 36.0sec behind Tänak.
Adrien Fourmaux, who had rejoined under restart rules following an electrical issue on Thursday, retired again when a front-right steering arm broke on SS7. The Frenchman had been nursing a puncture and drove almost 10 kilometres with the flailing tyre before the suspension finally gave way.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari also faced tyre damage issues, with Katsuta ending Friday fifth overall, more than four minutes off the lead, and Pajari in sixth. M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean, battling through problems that included a squashed exhaust and a boot floor punctured by a loose spare wheel, finished the day in seventh.
WRC2 leader Kajetan Kajetanowicz sat eighth overall after seizing the top spot from Oliver Solberg, who got stuck in a deep section of fesh-fesh on SS7. The Pole, driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 for the first time, held a narrow advantage over category rivals Gus Greensmith and Jan Solans.
Toyota Deputy Team Principal Juha Kankkunen expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance, saying, “In the end it has been a positive day for our team overall. It has been a long and challenging day but our drivers managed to keep a good, consistent speed. This first stage of the loop in particular was very difficult: you could push hard and take a lot of time but you could also lose the whole rally there. Our boys did a fantastic job and it has paid off at the end of the day. I’m quite satisfied so far but we have to remember that this is a long rally, tomorrow is another day and so many things can happen so quickly on this event. It’s not over until Sunday.”
Saturday’s leg brings another six gruelling tests covering 146.50km, promising more thrills and spills in the unforgiving Kenyan terrain.
