Safari Rally Kenya – Day Two
Following a character-building day at Safari Rally Kenya, the seventh round of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship season, Hyundai Motorsport is focusing on a strong finish on Sunday to salvage maximum points from the event.
Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm carried their rhythm from Friday into a new day, finishing third on the opening stage to move up into a provisional podium position. The crew was second fastest through the final stage of the morning, SS10 Sleeping Warrior 1, which further widened the gap to the fourth place. Sadly, their impressive run came to an abrupt end on SS11 Soysamba 2; in the final kilometres, the pair stopped in stage due to a technical issue and were unable to continue.
It was another problem-free day for Dani Sordo and Cándido Carrera, although the Spaniards struggled to match the pace of the competitors in front of them. They registered a best finish of fourth on Sleeping Warrior 2 and ended the day in fifth in the overall classification. Although the #6 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid crew is currently 90 seconds off the podium places, there could still be some final twists in the Safari Rally tale with six stages still to run on Sunday.
Belgian crew Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe returned to the event following their retirement on Friday. As first on the road on Saturday they experienced some of the worst conditions, which featured both incredibly muddy sections and standing water. The duo made steady progress back up the order, climbing from 16th to ninth place overall through the course of the day.
Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (#6 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)
- Spaniards claimed a weekend-best finish of fourth on treacherous final stage
- Spaniards are fifth overall heading into Sunday
Sordo said: “Honestly, it was really tricky conditions out there. I was hoping to have a good time on that final stage as we didn’t make many mistakes. We were trying to push in the heavy rain but it was as slippery as ice. I was trying to get through this rally with no problems. We’ve had some bad luck as a team but we hope that is the end of our issues. The speed of the cars in front of us is a step up from where we are, and it is difficult to match their pace. Tomorrow’s stages will be a little bit faster, with different profiles from today. We might not be able to do much about our position, we just have to survive like we have today.”
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)
- Crew returned on Saturday in bid to rebound from Friday’s retirement
- Third fastest through SS12 Elmenteita 2
Neuville said: “It was a wild day in general. We had some muddy sections this morning and then some big rain and standing water this afternoon. I have to say it is what we were hoping for today; to be able to have some fun. My motivation wasn’t very high this morning but we followed the target of driving through and keeping up our speed. We were hoping the rain would come later on that final stage, but it came five minutes too early and we struggled a lot, yet we had some smiles in the car. We still have eighth place in our sights, so we are going to chase that tomorrow. It’s a four-minute gap with six stages to go and we are going to push hard.”
Crew Notes: Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (#4 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)
- Finns continued Friday’s fine form and climbed to third overall on opening stage
- Forced to retire on SS11 Soysamba 2 with broken prop shaft
Lappi said: “It was very frustrating to retire on the first stage of the afternoon. I pushed the throttle to accelerate and there was a big bang. It seems the prop shaft cracked somewhere underneath the car, so we pulled over into the junction in front of us. I haven’t had this problem before this week, clearly something is wrong and we need to investigate very carefully. I’m sure we have a chance to return tomorrow to try to gain experience and fight for some Power Stage points. I think we were doing a really good job and prepared very well for this rally to have a good weekend, but it wasn’t to be.”
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “Like yesterday, today is a harsh yet clear reminder of where we are. We have suffered with extraordinary reliability issues and while it is only two, it is two too many. When you look at the level of effort that went into the preparation from everyone and especially from Esapekka and Janne, it is very tough that we have been so strongly. It was a challenging day for Thierry opening the road, but it is good to have him back in a points-scoring position and now we are aiming for maximum Power Stage points tomorrow. It is so important to have Dani still in the mix for the manufacturers’ championship, so hopefully he can keep on building his speed and momentum.”
Sunday at a glance
- There is no respite on Sunday at Safari Rally Kenya, with six final stages set to bring the event to a conclusion
- Two runs of Malewa (SS14/17, 8.33km), Oserian (SS15/18, 18.33km) and Hell’s Gate (SS16/19, 10.53km) will complete the rally, with the second attempt of Hell’s Gate forming the Power Stage.
1 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2:43:49.2
2 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +16.7
3 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +2:23.3
4 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +2:40.0
5 D. Sordo C. Carrera Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +3:52.3
6 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +8:38.9
7 P. L. Loubet N. Gilsoul Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +13:56.6
8 K. Kajetanowicz
M. Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Evo +19:53.1
9 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +24:06.2
9 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +24:06.2
