Kalle Rovanperä claims clean sweep of stage wins in Safari Rally

Kalle Rovanperä showcased an impressive performance on Friday morning during the Safari Rally Kenya, securing stage wins across the board and propelling his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 into the lead.

Despite posting the fastest time in the opening Loldia test, Rovanperä expressed frustration over excessive understeer, a sentiment echoed by his competitors in the FIA World Rally Championship.

Safari Rally Geothermal stage

After narrowly edging out his Hyundai rival Esapekka Lappi in the Geothermal stage by 1.4 seconds, Rovanperä extended his lead significantly in the rugged tracks of Kedong, dominating with a remarkable 11.1-second advantage over the nearest competitor in the 31-kilometer stretch.

By the mid-leg service, the 23-year-old had widened his lead to 15.5 seconds over Lappi.

Reflecting on his performance in the challenging Kedong stage, Rovanperä expressed satisfaction with his commitment to the new pace notes, delivering a strong performance and cementing his lead.

“This (Kedong) stage has been really nice every year, and now we went in the opposite direction with different pace notes. Even with the new notes, I wanted to commit to it and it was nice. We had a really big push and I'm happy with the time,” he told WRC media.

Meanwhile, Ott Tänak, despite initially describing his Hyundai i20 N as "undriveable," improved his spirits throughout the loop, finishing just 1.3 seconds behind Lappi in third place overall.

“It can be very sketchy. At least the car is running okay, no drama for us,” he stated.

Takamoto Katsuta adopted a cautious approach to navigate the opening day without drama, holding fourth position, albeit trailing Tänak by 24.5 seconds.

His Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans followed closely, facing challenges with the balance of his car.

Challenging Safari Rally

Thierry Neuville, the championship leader, endured a challenging morning after sustaining rear-right tire damage in SS3, causing him to drop down the order.

Despite the setback, Neuville managed to continue, equipped with goggles and dust masks to navigate the dusty conditions of the Kedong stage.

“Luckily we had the masks and the windscreen somehow stayed clean. It was okay, better than I thought,” Neuville said.

M-Sport Ford Puma duo Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster completed the morning without issues in seventh and eighth place respectively.

Gus Greensmith led the WRC2 category comfortably in ninth place, following tire troubles for Oliver Solberg.

Greek privateer Jourdan Serderidis rounded up the top 10 at the midpoint of the day's action.