The Winner of the Kenya Safari Rally Has Been Decided
Welsh driver Elfyn Evans secured victory in the Kenya Safari Rally, further strengthening his lead in the World Rally Championship. With this success, he extended his lead over his closest rival to 36 points. The Toyota driver achieved back-to-back wins for the first time in his career.
His teammate from Toyota, Kalle Rovanperä, was unable to finish the race due to several issues. Meanwhile, Evans claimed his first-ever victory in Kenya, and thanks to his success, Toyota won the Safari Rally for the fifth consecutive time.
Evans: “I am proud to be a small part of Toyota’s history.”
“I also want to thank everyone in Kenya for their warm welcome and for an amazing rally,” said Evans.
On Thursday, Evans won the opening stage and went on to secure victories in both of Saturday’s stages. As a result, he entered Sunday with a two-minute lead. Considering the rally’s difficulty, the Toyota Gazoo Racing team adopted a safer strategy for the final five stages.
Despite losing 47 seconds on the final day, Evans still crossed the finish line 1 minute 9.9 seconds ahead of Tänak. Thierry Neuville finished third, trailing by 3 minutes 32 seconds.
Although Evans earned only two extra points on Sunday, his 25 points from the overall victory brought his total to 88. Last season’s champion, Neuville, moved up from fourth to second place, while Tänak, who finished second in Kenya, now sits third in the world standings with 49 points.
Kenya Safari Rally Results
- Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), Toyota – 4 hours 20 minutes 3.8 seconds
- Ott Tänak (Estonia), Hyundai – +1 minute 09.9 seconds
- Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Hyundai – +3 minutes 32.0 seconds
- Sami Pajari (Finland), Toyota – +7 minutes 18.7 seconds
- Takamoto Katsuta (Japan), Toyota – +8 minutes 15.7 seconds
- Gregoire Munster (Luxembourg), Ford – +11 minutes 35.3 seconds
- Josh McErlean (Ireland), Ford – +37 minutes 15.8 seconds
FIA World Rally Championship Standings (Provisional)
- Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), Toyota – 88 points
- Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Hyundai – 52 points
- Ott Tänak (Estonia), Hyundai – 49 points
- Takamoto Katsuta (Japan), Toyota – 35 points
- Sebastien Ogier (France), Toyota – 33 points
- Kalle Rovanperä (Finland), Toyota – 31 points
- Josh McErlean (Ireland), Ford – 7 points