WRC Safari Rally Day 2 update

The race was preceded by official start ceremony outside City Hall, Nairobi, Thursday morning.

by EMMANUEL WANJALA

Realtime21 March 2025 - 17:15

In Summary

Day 2 of WRC Safari Rally lived up to expectation, building up from Day 1 spectacle in Kasarani where the 383.1 kilometre event got underway on Thursday.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans was quickest in Kasarani, posting1.5 seconds faster than Kalle Rovanperä and Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).

Day 2 of WRC Safari Rally lived up to expectation, building up from Day 1 spectacle in Kasarani where the 383.1 kilometre event got underway on Thursday.

The race was preceded by official start ceremony outside City Hall, Nairobi, Thursday morning following the end of two days of shakedown Wednesday morning at Sleeping Warrior.

The reconnaissance provided a useful chance to check cars’ systems and setups before drivers heraded to Naivasha for the ultimate challenge.

Championship leader Elfyn Evans was quickest in Kasarani, posting1.5 seconds faster than Kalle Rovanperä and Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).

The 8.27km test Mzabibu stage near the service park in Naivasha provided a considerable shake-up with Takamoto Katsuta going second quickest and moving into the same position overall, 2.4s behind new leader Ott Tänak (Hyundai).

"We had clean stages, especially the second one. A 24 second lead here at the Safari means nothing because the stages are full of surprises and one moment you could be in the lead then the next you are behind," remarked Tanak.

"My morning was not that good. We got punctures, and I have no spare tires left; hence, I have to be very careful. The afternoon session is going to be rough, especially the first section. We will try to be steady and see how it is going," Katsuta said.

Rovanperä and Evans were fourth and fifth overall, with Sami Pajari seventh on his Safari debut.

Friday marked Day 2 of the racing competition, with drivers put to the test through new sections of road under tougher conditions than in previous editions.

Special Stage 1 (SS3) was Camp Moran 1 at 7.13am followed by SS4 Loldia 1 at 8.51am.

Next was SS5 Kengen Geothermal 1 at 10.04am followed by SS6 Kedong 1 at 10.57am.

Rally driver in a yellow car powers through muddy terrain in high-speed action during Day 2 of WRC Safari Rally in Naivasha, March 21, 2025 /SAFARI RALLY KENYA

When the clock hit 1.30pm, it marked the start of SS7 Camp Moran 2 followed by SS8 Loldia 2 at 3.08pm.

SS9 Kengen Geothermal 2 got underway at 4.21pm folowed by the last stage of the day, SS10 Kedong 2 at 5.14pm.

At the start of the race, Thierry Neuville went overtime at the morning 15-minute service, picking up a one-minute penalty as he got a new gearbox installed

He nonetheless beat the odds and posted second fastest time 7:04.5 and moved to the 4th position overall along the 13.18 km SS5 despite picking up another 10s penalty for jump start.

"I was disappointed to kick off the rally with 1:20 minutes behind the leader. This was brought by a penalty for leaving the service late. Everybody did what they could. We climbed back before but not a bad morning though we suffered two punctures," he said.

Morning Stage Winners

SS3 Camp Moran 1 - Ott Tanak 25:57.3: SS4 Loldia 1 - Ott Tanak 14:29.8: SS5 Kengen Geothermal - Kalle Rovanpera 07:03.4.

"The morning was not the best for me. I hoped to be a bit faster in the first two rounds but after that when the stage changed to be quite wider and faster, we had some good times," Rovanpera said.

Tanak led SS6 Kedong 1 in 7:21.4 to wrap up Kedong 1 stage.

Adrien Fourmaux was unlucky as he suffered a broken steering goin into SS7.

Neuville led SS7 Camp Moran (31.4 km) in 25:56.9, 22.4s ahead of team mate Tanak before rally fans were allowed a break at the rally village to grab some nyama choma.

A rally driver goes through a muddy section during Day 2 of WRC Safari Rally in Naivasha, March 21, 2025. /SAFARI RALLY KENYA