Sublime Rovanpera tames a wild Safari to head Toyota 1-2
Two-time world champions Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen clinched a first victory of the season in the second event of a partial campaign by a dominant 1m37.8s from Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta. M-Sport’s Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux claimed a second career WRC podium in third, 2m25.1s adrift. Rovanpera was fast and faultless through Kenya’s 19 stages, […]
Rovanpera preserves lead as Hyundai hits more trouble
After building up a sizeable lead through Friday and Saturday, Toyota’s Rovanpera could afford to take a measured approach, completing the trio of stages with a 1m53.5s rally lead over team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, with M-Sport-Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux third [+2m57.4s]. Evans maintained fourth position [+4m51.1s] sitting 0.3s behind Tanak in the Sunday classification, where a maximum […]
Why Rovanpera is able to tame WRC Safari Rally stages
Rovanpera has proved to be the class of the field in Kenya, which is regarded as the most gruelling event on the WRC calendar. The reigning two-time world champion is the only Rally1 driver to avoid punctures or any major delays across the 13 stages to date, which has resulted in a huge 2m08.9s lead […]
Neuville frustrated as WRC Safari Rally hoodoo continues
The WRC points leader climbed to second position across Saturday morning, benefitting from punctures delaying his Toyota rivals Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta. However, Thierry Neuville’s bid for a podium was dashed when his i20 N struggled for power, and he was forced to stop on several occasions before ending the stage in EV mode. […]
Drama strikes Neuville, Rovanpera firmly in control
Reigning world champion Rovanpera was one of the few to avoid punctures or mechanical issues to complete the day’s six stages with a 2m08.9s lead over Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, with M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux third [+3m13.3s]. Read Also: The trio will bank 18-15-13 championship points respectively under the new-for-2024 scoring system if they finish […]
Costly WRC Safari Rally punctures a “mystery”
Evans started Saturday sitting in second trailing leader Kalle Rovanpera by 56.9s but ended the morning loop in fifth [+3m34.2s] after picking up punctures in stage eight [Soysambu] and 10 [Sleeping Warrior]. Read Also: Evans picked up a left-rear failure in the day’s opening test before losing the right rear in the famous Sleeping Warrior […]
Rovanpera leads Neuville, double puncture costs Evans
Toyota’s Rovanpera was among the fortunate to enjoy a clean run through a gruelling and incident-filled Saturday morning loop of stages, to open up a 1m27.9s lead over Hyundai’s Neuville, who leapt from fourth to second. Neuville took advantage of a chaotic loop for Evans and Katsuta, who were delayed by double punctures. Katsuta ended […]
Commanding WRC Safari lead «not even close to being enough»
The reigning world champion delivered a dominant display to reel off the fastest times in all six of Friday’s stages to open up a commanding 56.9s lead over Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans. Rovanpera’s most impressive drive arrived in stage four where he was 11.1s faster than nearest rival Hyundai’s Ott Tanak, who retired from the […]
Gearbox explosion caused Lappi’s Safari Rally exit
The Rally Sweden winner was forced to surrender second position when his i20 N ground to a halt in stage five with a transmission issue. The Finn cut a frustrated figure, admitting there was no warning of the imminent failure. His exit comes after suffering four propshaft failures during last year’s visit to Kenya which […]