We came then to the final day of action and the crews would be facing just over fifty-seven kilometres over four stages to finish the rally. Elfyn would open the road throughout the day in these final stages.

 

First up then was SS17 Oserengoni 1 and Seb set the pace from Oliver and Adrien. Takamoto continued to lead the rally, his lead over Adrien now a few seconds over a minute. The Japanese driver was looking good to take a first victory with his Irish co-driver Aaron Johnston.

 

Next up was SS18 Hell’s Gate 1, the first run through what would be the powerstage and Elfyn was fastest from Oliver and Seb as the three teammates continued to show their pace at the front of this championship. Takamoto was being careful and taking no chances out there as he set the ninth best time.

 

Next up then was SS19 Oserengoni 2 and Oliver was fastest in this one as Seb and Elfyn were second and third fastest. Once again, Takamoto continued to manage his pace setting the eighth best time but still maintaining a considerable margin over Adrien with just one stage remaining. Of the three early championship protagonists Oliver was the only one who had remained in the overall top ten, whilst his teammates Seb and Elfyn were holding eleventh and thirteen respectively.

 

We came then to the final stage, SS20 Hell’s Gate 2 and of the front runners Elfyn set the early pace before first being pushed down by Seb and then Oliver to the third best time as the Swede took the stage win. Adrien came through to take a well fought for second place and Sami for his third-place finish.  All eyes were on the number eighteen GR Yaris piloted by Takamoto with his co-driver Aaron as they came through the stage and crossed the finish line to take their first ever WRC victory. There were emotional scenes at the time control before they climbed onto the top of their car.

Let’s take a look at the final finishing positions and hear from the drivers.

Safari Rally Kenya Final Classification

1	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	3:16:05.6
2	A. Fourmaux	A. Coria	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+27.4
3	S. Pajari	M. Salminen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+4:26.1
4	E. Lappi	E. Mälkönen	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+6:07.3
5	R. Virves	J. Viilo	Skoda Fabia RS	+11:38.7
6	G. Greensmith	J. Andersson	Toyota GR Yaris	+12:09.0
7	F. Zaldivar	M. Der Ohannesian	Skoda Fabia RS	+12:20.0
8	A. Mikkelsen	J. Listerhud	Skoda Fabia RS	+12:30.7
9	D. Domínguez	R. Peñate	Toyota GR Yaris	+13:28.4
10	O. Solberg	E. Edmondson	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+16:44.5

Super Sunday Classification – Safari Rally Kenya

1	O. Solberg	33:28.9
2	S. Ogier	+3.6
3	E. Evans	+17.5
4	T. Neuville	+26.8
5	A. Fourmaux	+38.4

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Takamoto Katsuta

“It’s such an amazing feeling to achieve this result. It’s hard to describe how I felt when I crossed the finish line: it was just crazy. There have been so many difficult moments, and these memories all went through my head. It hasn’t been easy but finally we are here. Thanks to Aaron who has worked so hard with me, and to every single person in the team, which has always been believing in me. Trying to manage today was really difficult, because you see every small rock and you try to avoid them. But we managed it without any problems, so thank you to the team for giving me such a strong car and strong support. We’re here because we never give up and we’ll keep working hard to achieve more results like this.”

Sami Pajari

“It’s really nice to finish on the podium again. This was a real adventure of a rally, a really tough one but that’s the nature of this event. The performance we had on Friday especially was really nice, and to take five stage wins is great. We had the speed, but the most important thing today was just to reach the finish without any issues. Thanks to the team for keeping the car running all week. I’m super happy for me and Marko and also for Taka and Aaron taking their first win.”

Oliver Solberg

“The goal for today was to have one last push after the disappointment of yesterday. I just tried to turn it around and do the best that I could, and we ended up having a fantastic day, winning Super Sunday and the Power Stage. We did the best that we could possibly could to recover, so I’m really happy with the day. And if it couldn’t be us winning, then I’m also happy to see Taka and Aaron winning the rally. With all the hard work Taka does and the passion that he has, he really deserves it.”

Sébastien Ogier

“Today we tried to get as many points as we could, but it’s never easy to push to the maximum in these conditions like we had in the Power Stage. I just tried to drive clean in the ruts, and it’s possible to go faster if you really push it. Speed-wise I think it’s been a good weekend, but this is also the rally of the year where the speed matters the least. I’m really glad to see that Taka could still bring the win home for the team and for himself: it’s well-deserved for him after all these years of effort.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s definitely been a tough weekend. We tried to use our head but still we weren’t able to get the car through the whole rally. It’s like this, sometimes it happens in rallying like we know. I’m a bit disappointed with today also: we were quite slow in the first stage this morning and conditions were not ideal for us. We tried but didn’t get as many points as we would have liked. I’m pleased to still be leading the championship, and we can look forward to Croatia. I’m very happy for Taka and Aaron who have worked really hard and are very deserving of this win.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Adrien Fourmaux

“I’m feeling relieved finishing on the podium after four tough days; this is a big result. I said often this weekend that Safari Rally Kenya isn’t over until the finish line, and anything can happen. We never gave up, even when we had a lot of time to make up on Friday. On Saturday morning, we had more issues to battle. We knew coming into this event that everyone would have problems, but our plan was to have fewer than everyone else. We can be pleased that we achieved that. Congratulations, and a big thank you, to the team – it has been a proper team effort this weekend. What the mechanics did yesterday was unbelievable. People think rallying is about the driver and co-driver, but there are many others behind the scenes who contributed to this success.”

Esapekka Lappi

“We had a plan this weekend and let nothing deviate us from it, and it has paid off. We might not have won the rally; however, it is the first time I have finished it. If you’d have told us at the start of the weekend we would finish second and fourth as a team, we would have taken it, and considering that we should be very satisfied with the result today. Thanks to the mechanics, who did an amazing job at every service. Today we were slow to be safe, we had a bit more rhythm on the Power Stage, but it was all about ensuring we finished. It was the toughest event I’ve ever done; I’ve never done so many repairs on the road section. The conditions Thursday and yesterday were insane, the mud made it so difficult to drive and keep the car alive.”

Thierry Neuville

“A very tough rally comes to an end; this has been a Kenya like no other. It has been an incredible adventure from the beginning, and the conditions were very difficult. The team has done really well, making some great steps forward with the car to address the issues we had previously and surviving where others failed. Today was tough, we tried hard to fight for Super Sunday, but we just couldn’t go any faster. We didn’t give up, and I’m happy we did what we could after a lot of disappointments on each stage. We will fight back. Finally, a big shout-out to the mechanics who have done an incredible job this weekend to get the car repaired every time – they deserve this great result.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Jon Armstrong

“It’s been one of the toughest weekends we’ve experienced. Some of the issues we had – one of them was my mistake – but at least we were able to fix the car and continue. It’s a big bonus to get to the finish without having to super rally, and the car held up really well apart from a couple of small things. That’s just Kenya – you take it on the chin and bank the experience. I’m quite happy with our pace in some of the stages too, so I’m looking forward to getting back on tarmac – but all of this has been valuable knowledge for the next gravel rally.”

Josh McErlean

“It’s disappointing to retire with the engine issue after the effort the whole team put in this week. Safari is always a huge challenge, but there were some positives for us – especially the third fastest time on Friday which showed the pace we’re capable of. Thanks to the team at M-Sport for all their hard work!”

Romet Jürgenson (WRC2)

“It’s been a really difficult weekend for us, starting with issues already on stage one – and it basically got worse from there. On the second day we didn’t get any further than the first stage again, but at least on Saturday we got to do some proper mileage. Sunday brought another issue, so it’s one of those weekends where you just want to draw a line and focus on the next one. The team put in a huge amount of effort and sometimes it just doesn’t get rewarded – that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

 

Summary

Well, we knew it was going to come one day and now Takamoto and Aaron now join the elite of this championship as rally winners. There were moments during the rally which really tested them including the double puncture on Saturday. Yet, they were just there when their teammates hit problems and took their first win in the rally which gave Taka his first podium in 2021.

Adrien and Alex took a very well deserved second place to add to his previous podiums. Again, there were problems along the way, but their drive gave them good points which has placed them in fourth in the championship standings after three rounds and the top Hyundai crew.

 

Finally, Sami and Marko took a third overall podium and their second in a row. Lots of stage wins showed that they really have the pace now. Their first win cannot be far away.

 

2026 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 3

1	E. Evans	66
2	O. Solberg	58
3	T. Katsuta	55
4	A. Fourmaux	47
5	S. Pajari	32
6	S. Ogier	26
7	T. Neuville	25
8	E. Lappi	21
9	R. Virves	10
10	G. Greensmith	8

 

 

2026 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 3

1	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	157
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	114
3	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2	35
4	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	23

 

The next round is in Croatia taking place over the ninth to twelfth of April.