Tag: WRC

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Rally Italia Sardgena 2024 Tänak Narrowly Beats Ogier

The third and final day of Rally Italia Sardegna has come to a close. Ott Tänak took home the event win barely beating out Ogier.

SS13, Cala Flumini 1

Thierry Neuville kicked off the final day with a stage win. As the Belgian set a time 4.6 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to top the stage and take an early lead in the Sunday standings. Elfyn Evans was third fastest on the stage, 6.1 seconds slower than Neuville and 1.5 seconds slower than Tänak. Sebastien Ogier finished fourth fastest on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Evans. Dani Sordo rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 5.6 seconds slower than Ogier. No drivers reported any issues on the stage.

SS14, Sassari-Argentiera 1

Thierry Neuville also took home the stage win on the fourteenth stage of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024. With a time 0.8 seconds faster than Ott Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta finished third fastest on the stage, 2.6 seconds slower than Neuville and 1.8 seconds slower than Tänak. Dani Sordo set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.8 seconds slower than Katsuta. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Sordo.

SS14, Cala Flumini 2

Ott Tänak took home the stage win on the events penultimate stage. As the Estonian set a time 0.4 seconds faster than Sebastien Ogier to win the stage. Elfyn Evans finished third fastest on the stage, 2.3 seconds slower than Tänak, and 1.9 seconds slower than Ogier. Thierry Neuville was fourth fastest on the stage, 2.9 seconds slower than Evans. Dani Sordo rounded out the top five times on the stage, finishing 4.3 seconds slower than Neuville.

SS16, Sassari-Argentiera 2

Thierry Neuville took home the final stage win of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024. With a time 2.3 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to top the Powerstage and Sunday standings. Elfyn Evans was third fastest on the stage, 6.4 seconds slower than Neuville and 4.1 seconds slower than Tänak. Adrien Fourmaux tied for fourth fastest on the stage, with both finishing 0.3 seconds slower than Evans.

Championship Rundown

Thierry Neuville still holds onto the championship lead after a less-than-desirable Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 for the Belgian. Neuville managed to take home 12 points from the event. Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans sit tied for second overall. With both sitting just 18 points behind Neuville. Sébastien Ogier moves up to fourth in the championship, 12 points behind Tänak and Evans. Adrien Fourmaux drops to fifth and rounds out the top five in the championship sitting 18 points behind Ogier.

Team Quotes

Hyundai Shell Mobis

Cyril Abiteboul – Team Principal

“It is obviously a very emotional finish here today. It looked like the win would once again escape from our grasp after Ott wisely decided to play it safe yesterday. However, today’s result showed that you can also combine a smart approach to a rally with strong skills and the right momentum at the perfect time, resulting in a great win. It is a fantastic moment for him in his return to the team. This is a strong step in the championship, and an excellent team result with Dani on the podium. He did exactly what we expected of him for the team this weekend and it’s great to see them both from on that podium, underscoring our competitiveness. Finally, Thierry has once again demonstrated his very commanding speed in any road position, including today when the motivation level was very high to make up for the loss and disappointment of yesterday. Obviously, we need to make sure that mistakes are as limited as possible as we expect this championship to continue to be incredibly competitive until the very end. There is even more to celebrate today, with our cars locking out the TCR class podium at the Nürburgring 24 Hours – we send our congratulations to our colleagues there for a phenomenal result.”

Ott Tänak – 1st Overall

“I’m feeling so many emotions right now. I’m very sorry for Seb to lose a win like this, it is cruel. I have been in the exactly the same position having a ‘safe’ victory taken away from me a couple of years ago. It’s been a tough weekend but it is great to finish with such a strong result. Let’s see what the next rallies will bring; we’re moving into the second half of the season and we’re definitely in the game. Now we have some fast rallies which I normally looking forward to, but I was supposed to enjoy yesterday afternoon as well but it was just not going to plan. Hopefully, we can find a good feeling in the car in our next events.”

Dani Sordo – 3rd Overall

“It wasn’t the easiest of days; Elfyn was having a good run and making good progress, so he was pushing us to the very end. In the final stage, I just tried to survive, it was completely destroyed and very hard on the car. We finish on the podium, which makes me very happy. It has been a joy to be back in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid for these two events, which I enjoy so much, and I am pleased to be able to bring home a great result for the team. It was important for us to have a good finish and help the team in such a close battle for the manufacturers’ championship.”

 

Thierry Neuville – 41st Overall [SR]

“We did the job we needed to do today, but we are obviously frustrated with what happened yesterday. We were clearly managing the conditions, the speed was good and we felt comfortable – and fast. I just lost focus for a fraction of a second, and there was no way to continue. I’m not very proud of the weekend as a whole but I take pride in our performance on Friday and today, as well as in the team for a great result today. Now we turn to Poland, where I have won before – we have shown great improvements last year in Estonia and Finland, so I am looking forward to it.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Akio Toyoda – TGR-WRT Chairman

“The surface in Sardinia is very demanding, and it always gives challenges to our team and cars. TGR has won Sardinia only once so far when Seb got the victory in 2021. Seb and Vincent were doing really well on this harsh and demanding event, but they missed out at the very last moment on the Power Stage. The gap of 0.2 seconds is so small and disappointing, but this is sport. Our team all hate to lose. We will turn this frustration into strength and aim for the next victory.

P.S. to Ott

I was on-site in Rally Sardinia 2019 and following your performance. You made up for the disappointment of that Power Stage this time. Congratulations!”

Jari-Matti Latvala – Team Principal

“We are of course very disappointed to miss out on the victory in this way. This final stage in Sardinia has been very dramatic in the past and unfortunately, it’s not the first time that we have experienced late drama here, because it reminds us of what happened back in 2019 when we were leading with Ott until the last stage. This event has not always been kind to us, but it was looking very good for Seb and we thought we could take another victory together here. The only positive is that it didn’t affect the points so much for us. A moment like this can be difficult to digest, and we hate to lose, but we also never lose our fighting spirit and we will come back to fight again on the next event in Poland.”

Sébastien Ogier – 2nd Overall

“We knew it could be tough today with some stages that are very rough and maybe not the most suited to us. Still, I think we were doing a good enough job to secure the win, but unfortunately, we started to lose tyre pressure three kilometres from the end. The conditions were very extreme in this Power Stage, even worse than we have seen there before, and I don’t think there was much that I could have done differently. It’s something that’s never easy to take, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really change anything in terms of the overall points for the team. I think I can still be happy with the weekend I’ve done, and sometimes motorsport just doesn’t go your way. We will come back and try to keep up this level of performance we’ve had.”

Elfyn Evans – 4th Overall

“It’s been a very difficult weekend for us but today was a bit better. I would say the feeling was definitely improved and I think the times and the points that we got from the day showed that. Still, it’s clear looking at the weekend overall that we still have a lot of work to do to improve in rallies with conditions like this one. The good news is that the characteristics now change to something quite different for the next three rallies. We know the car can be strong on fast rallies like those and it will be important to prepare as best we can and try to find confidence early.”

Takamoto Katsuta – 35th Overall

“Today my target was to get some points. We knew it would be difficult with our starting position, and the first stage was not good because we had a lot of dust from the car in front and could not see so much. We took some points but of course, I wanted more. Things were working well earlier in the rally, everything was under control and then unfortunately we had the technical issue. But it was a demanding rally for the cars and sometimes things like this can happen: I just need to accept it and move forward to the next rally.”

M-Sport Ford

Richard Millener – Team Principal

“We knew it was always going to be hard to continue our good run here in Sardinia, one of the toughest events of the European part of the WRC, but dispute not getting the result we wanted, we can still be happy with the speed Adrien and Alex showed on many of the event stages. I also want to congratulate Gregoire and Louis on their best result to date in the WRC – a really great achievement for them both and secures them eight championship points. We now look towards three fast rallies in a row where we are determined to get back to chasing the podium places.”

Grégoire Munster – 5th Overall

“I’m just happy we had a trouble free event, and at the end, we reached our best result in the WRC, so we’re very happy with this. There’s still plenty of work to do and pace to find but we’re always going in the right direction. Especially seeing us get our fourth fastest time in SS3, we now need to build on that and keep the momentum going into the next few events.”

Adrien Fourmuax – 15th Overall

“I think we can be quite positive with the pace we showed this weekend, on Friday and Saturday especially. It’s a shame what happened with the electronic issue on Friday, but we are working on these things for the future. On Sunday, it was good to get some extra points for the Power Stage, even if we wanted more from the daily standings on Super Sunday. We need to focus a bit on the slower corners, to get the car more agile, but this is very specific to Sardinia. Overall I have been happy with the car and now we need to focus on the upcoming smooth gravel rallies.”

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Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 Ogier Retains Lead After Day Two

The second day of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 has come to a close. Sebastien Ogier retained the event lead after the day.

SS5, Tempio Pausania 1

Ott Tänak kicked off the day with his second stage win of the weekend. As the Estonian set a time 3.3 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to top the stage. Sebastien Ogier finished third fastest on the stage, 4.6 seconds slower than Tänak and 1.3 seconds slower than Neuville. WRC2 driver Yohan Rossel was fourth fastest on the stage, 5.3 seconds slower than Ogier. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.4 seconds slower than Rossel. Ott Tänak took over the event lead on the stage. Tänak took a 0.1-second lead over Ogier into SS6. Ogier suffered a puncture on the stage.

SS6, Tula-Erula 1

Sebastien Ogier took home the stage win on the sixth stage of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024. With a time 2.3 seconds faster than Ott Tänak. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest on the stage, 3.2 seconds slower than Ogier and 0.9 seconds slower than Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 18.1 seconds slower than Neuville. WRC2 driver Yohan Rossel rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.7 seconds slower than Katsuta. Sebastien Ogier was able to reacquire the event lead on SS6. With Ogier now holding a 2.2-second lead over Tänak. No drivers had any reported issues on the stage.

SS7, Tempio Pausania 2

Thierry Neuville took his first stage win on the day on SS7. Setting a time 0.1 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to win his second stage of the weekend. Sebastien Ogier was third fastest on the stage, 4.5 seconds slower than Neuville and 4.4 seconds slower than Tänak, making Tänak the new rally leader. Elfyn Evans finished fourth fastest on the stage, 4.5 seconds slower than Ogier. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.3 seconds slower than Evans.

SS8, Tula-Erula 2

Ott Tänak took home the stage win on the final stage of the morning loop. As the Estonian posted a time 1.3 seconds faster than Sebastien Ogier to expand his event lead to 3.5 seconds over Ogier. Takamoto Katsuta finished third fastest on the stage, 8 seconds slower than Tänak and 6.7 seconds slower than Ogier. Dani Sordo had the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.8 seconds slower than Katsuta. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the eighth stage of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024, finishing 4.8 seconds slower than Sordo. Reigning event winner Thierry Neuville crashed out on the stage. Forcing him to retire from the day.

SS9, Monte Lerno 1

Sebastien Ogier kicked off the afternoon loop with his second stage win of the day. Finishing with a time 6.8 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to take back the event lead. Ogier now leads by 3.3 seconds over Tänak. Adrien Fourmaux set the third fastest time on the stage, 11.5 seconds slower than Ogier and 4.7 seconds slower than Tänak. Dani Sordo was fourth fastest on the stage, 9.4 seconds slower than Fourmaux. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 5.5 seconds slower than Sordo. Takamoto Katsuta was forced to retire early into the stage with what’s believed to be a transmission issue.

SS10, Coiluna-Loelle 1

Sebastien Ogier also took home the stage win on the tenth stage of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024. As Ogier set a time 6.4 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to extend the event lead to 9.7 seconds. Adrien Fourmaux was once again third fastest on the stage, finishing 7.4 seconds slower than Ogier and 1 second slower than Tänak. Elfyn Evans finished fourth fastest on the stage, 1.2 seconds slower than Fourmaux. Dani Sordo rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.9 seconds slower than Evans. No drivers reported any issues on the stage.

SS11, Monte Lerno 2

Sebastien Ogier also took home the stage win on the eleventh stage of Rally Italian Sardegna 2024. With a time 6.5 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to further extend the event lead to 16.2 seconds. Dani Sordo finished third fastest on the stage, 7.7 seconds slower than Ogier and 1.2 seconds slower than Tänak. Adrien Fourmaux set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 6.2 seconds slower than Sordo. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.7 seconds slower than Fourmaux. No drivers reported any issues on the stage.

SS12, Coiluna-Loelle 2

Elfyn Evans took his first stage win of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 on the final stage of day two. As the Welshmen set a time 0.4 seconds faster than Sebastien Ogier. Ott Tänak was third fastest on the stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Evans and 0.9 seconds slower than Ogier. Dani Sordo finished fourth fastest on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Tänak. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Sordo.

What To Expect From Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 Day Three

The third and final day of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 will see drivers contest 39.30 km across four stages. Thierry Neuville will be first on the road, followed by Takamoto Katsuta and Adrien Fourmaux. Neuville will likely look to make a huge push on Super Sunday due to his retirement today. If he doesn’t he’s at risk of losing the championship lead for the first time this season.

Driver Quotes

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala – Team Principal

“To be leading at the end of another Saturday definitely gives us a great feeling. Seb has been driving superbly once again. Even with no spare tyres left, he was able to keep up his speed this morning and then attack in the afternoon. Taka was driving well and keeping Dani Sordo behind, so it was a pity that he had to stop with the transmission-related issue, but the last stage of the morning was very rough and it seems something had broken as a consequence. Elfyn hasn’t had the best feeling in this rally but he’s been driving consistently and, with Thierry making a mistake, he has moved into a better position and if everything goes well tomorrow, this can help him in the championship. It’s a relatively short final day tomorrow but I’m sure everybody will be pushing hard and we can expect more tense competition.”

Sebastien Ogier – 1st Overall

“It’s been an incredible day overall. Very rough and very tough. The morning stages were not so fun to drive with some of the roughest conditions we’ve ever seen. That was really about surviving and I’m glad we were able to do that, especially after we lost one tyre after the first stage of the day. The afternoon was completely different: it was much more enjoyable to drive. The pleasure was back so I really enjoyed it and I managed to create a gap, so tonight it’s very positive. Tomorrow we still expect some rough conditions, but we will still need to have some speed and just carry on with the same approach.”

Elfyn Evans – 4th Overall

“It’s been a long and tough day out there. I think our speed has been better in certain stages than in others. When there’s a bit more room and the surface is sandier, it suits us better. When it’s tight and twisty we’re still struggling a bit. The good thing is that we got the car to the end of the day when others weren’t able to do so and that’s helped us move up the leaderboard. Of course, we still have tomorrow to get through to secure those points, and hopefully, we can push to take a few more.”

Takamoto Katsuta – 40th Overall [SR]

“Everything was going quite well this morning. It was a very rough loop – the last stage especially was very extreme and tough for the cars. We managed to get up to third overall so we were in a good position. But I started to hear a noise in the last stage of the morning and we found that we had an issue with the transmission. With a normal service, we could have fixed it, but with just the tyre-fitting zone we could not do so much. We tried, but it got worse on the first stage of the afternoon and we had to stop. It’s tough, but this is rallying and we just need to look forward.”

Hyundai Shell Mobis

Cyril Abiteboul – Team Principal

“Definitely a day of mixed feelings.  We have had some great moments in very good position, including Ott in the lead, but also some disappointments when Thierry made a mistake and went off, meaning he could not complete the day. It is unfortunate as he was looking to build his advantage, but he will be back on Sunday with renewed focus. Ott kept the fight alive against Ogier but eventually elected to take a cautious approach, especially as he still occasionally lacks confidence in certain conditions with the car. Today was one of those days, but tomorrow he will be back on a massive attack. Dani did a great job keeping Evans behind, which is a crucial contribution to the team’s objective and our final result in a very contested championship season.”

Ott Tänak – 2nd Overall

“Generally, I was expecting a very tough first half of the day, which it was, and it was a big job to keep the pace on these roads – it took a lot of energy. I was hoping for a better afternoon on stages that I really enjoy, but I couldn’t make it work. I couldn’t find a good rhythm in the car and when you don’t have full confidence, it’s hard to keep pushing to the maximum. I also had to be safe and not take any risks. Every day has been very different and tomorrow we have two unique stages – the Power Stage on the beach cannot be compared to anything else. It is very cool if you have nothing to lose, but we can’t lose what we have achieved already.”

Dani Sordo – 3rd Overall

“I was performing better this afternoon when I had better grip on the surface of the roads, but it was a tough day and I did struggle. The problems of Katsuta and Thierry gave us a little bit of a boost, but in the end, I started to push and managed to build a gap of thirty seconds. Tomorrow is another really demanding day, with narrow and difficult stages, so we need to keep pushing forwards. Our goal is to keep Evans behind and finish on the podium at a minimum, and try to keep up with the guys in front.”

Thierry Neuville – 44th Overall [SR]

“We were in the middle of a very tricky twisty section when I momentarily lost my concentration on a corner and didn’t realise we would have a slow one right after. I was too late on the brakes and I knew immediately it was going to be tricky to get out of the situation. There were no spectators around to help push us back on, which meant that despite having no damage on the car, we were unable to continue.  Tomorrow we have a clear target: to push as hard as we can to take the full 12 points from the day. It’s the best we can do in this situation.”

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Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 Ogier Leads After Day One

The first day of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 has come to an end. Sebastien Ogier leads the event after the days four stages.

SS1, Osilo-Tergu 1

Sebastien Ogier picked up where he left off in Portugal. As the Frenchman took home the stage win on the weekend’s first stage. With a time 7.7 seconds faster than Ott Tänak. Adrien Fourmaux and Dani Sordo tied for third fastest on the stage. With both drivers finishing 14.5 seconds slower than Ogier and 6.8 seconds slower than Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five times on the stage, finishing 0.3 seconds slower than Fourmaux and Sordo. Elfyn Evans suffered a slow puncture on the stage. The Welshman managed to finish eighth fastest on the opening stage.

SS2, Sedini-Castelsardo 1

Ott Tänak took home the stage win on the second stage of Rally Italia Sardegna. As the Estonian posted a time 1.2 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to top the stage. Adrien Fourmaux finished third fastest on the stage, 1.9 seconds slower than Tänak and 0.7 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.7 seconds slower than Fourmaux. Sebastien Ogier rounded out the top five on the stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Katsuta. No drivers reported any issues on the stage. Sebastien Ogier remains in the event lead after the stage only 1.8 seconds ahead of Tänak.

SS3, Osilo-Tergu 2

Sebastien Ogier also took home the stage win on the second running of the Osilo-Tergu stage. With a time 2.9 seconds faster than Ott Tänak this time around. Dani Sordo had his first top-three time this weekend on the stage, finishing 8.8 seconds slower than Ogier and 5.9 seconds slower than Tänak. Grégoire Munster was fourth fastest on the stage, 4.9 seconds slower than Sordo. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Munster. Adrien Fourmaux suffered a puncture on the stage. Much like Evans, he was still able to have a decent finishing time on the stage, finishing 9th, 39.4 seconds slower than Ogier. Sebastien Ogier was able to expand his lead to 4.7 seconds ahead of Tänak heading into the fays final stage.

SS4, Sedini-Castelsardo 2

Thierry Neuville capped off the first day of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 with his first stage win of the weekend. As the championship leader set a time 3.7 seconds faster than Ott Tänak on the stage. Sebastien Ogier finished third fastest on the stage, 3.9 seconds slower than Neuville and 0.2 seconds slower than Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta was fourth fastest on the stage, 6.9 seconds slower than Ogier. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Katsuta. Fourmaux retired in the stage due to an electrical issue.

What To Expect From Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 Day Two

The second day of Rally Italia Sardegna 2024 will see drivers contest 149 km across eight stages. The day will feature no midday service. Adrien Fourmaux will be first on the road followed by Grégoire Munster and Elfyn Evans. Sebastien Ogier takes a 4.5-second lead over Ott Tänak into the day. Ogier will be looking to expand on that lead to take home his third consecutive win this season and 61st career win.

Driver And Team Quotes

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala – Team Principal

“Generally I’m very happy tonight with how our rally has started. I could see already in shakedown that Seb’s confidence levels were high and he started the rally very strongly. He showed a great performance and to be leading the rally after the first day is really nice. Taka started with a careful approach but he was improving his pace all the time so it’s been generally a good start for him as well. Unfortunately, Elfyn already got damage to one of his tyres very early on and then had to be more careful in order to get through the loop. But overall I’m pleased with our performance at the start of the rally, as this hasn’t been the easiest event for us in the past, and hopefully, we can continue this progress, but tomorrow will be a long and tough day for everybody.”

Sebastien Ogier – 1st Overall

“We’re in the lead tonight so it’s been a positive start. It’s been tough: we expected a difficult loop with some abrasive sections that would be tough for the tyres, especially this first stage, Osilu-Tergu. It was also my first time driving this stage in that direction. Still, we went with an aggressive choice of five tyres for the afternoon and I did have to take care a little bit in some sections to manage it, but it’s nice to be in the lead. We made a positive step today that now gives us the optimum start position for tomorrow, but the gap to second place is close so it’s going to be an intense fight.”

Elfyn Evans – 6th overall

“It’s been a tough start for us. Picking up a puncture near the end of the first stage was not ideal, and then both times through the second stage of the loop was difficult for us. We struggled with the feeling in there and we were having to be careful with no spare tyre left to use. It was just a pity that happened so early on because that made it hard to manage the wear across the rubber we had left. It’s a long and difficult rally to go still and we’ll keep going and see what comes. We need to keep learning on this type of surface, try to find improvements and keep working towards where we want to be.”

Takamoto Katsuta- 4th Overall

“We are not in a bad position tonight. I’m not fully happy with myself, I was struggling a bit through most of the stages and it was a bit of a pity that I could not finish one place higher to get the better road position for tomorrow. But still, there’s a long way to go. I just need to find what I can improve in my driving to be better tomorrow and to push with a bit more confidence. With no mid-day service, there’s not much we can change on the car during tomorrow so as drivers we will need to adapt, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Hyundai Shell Mobis

Cyril Abiteboul – Team Principal

“It has been a good opening day here in Sardinia. It was our first experience of this new sprint format and it unfolded as we both expected and hoped it would. Ott had very strong pace, which has put him in a good position for a push tomorrow. He will be supported by Dani, who managed to keep Katsuta and Evans behind him today. Thierry had dealt with his road position very well, and we end the first day in pretty much the best situation possible. However, we have to stay focused on the job at hand, as tomorrow is going to be a long and unpredictable day.”

Ott Tänak – 2nd Overall

“We can be happy after our day, and we have a good road position for tomorrow. It would have been nice to have been one better but we can be content with what we have. It was a bit challenging in that last stage on both runs – the loss of the hybrid boost wasn’t as important on the first, as there was not much grip on the loose gravel, but the second was very grippy and it would have helped a lot. Thankfully, the strong Hyundai engine pulled us through and ensured we didn’t lose too much time. Tomorrow is going to be very demanding, particularly the first four stages; they are very slow, narrow and twisty – there’s no flow at all, but you have to push.”

Thierry Neuville – 5th Overall

“Today was worse than I expected if I am honest. We hoped that we could take some softs to try and minimise the disadvantage of our road position, but ultimately it was very warm and we had to go with full hard tyres on the abrasive stages. In hindsight, we should have taken one more with us to allow us to properly attack in every single corner, but I’m still happy with my day. I would love to have been third overnight rather than fifth, but we are constantly adapting and there is still an opportunity for a podium. Tomorrow we need to make sure we don’t lose too much time and score the maximum points as we push for the top three.”

Dani Sordo – 3rd Overall

“I’m happy to finish the day in third, especially as it wasn’t certain in those last two stages that we would have a good road position for tomorrow. We had to manage the tyres because we were really on the limit at the end, but it has been a nice day. I expected to be closer to the battle at the front, but Ogier and Ott were on a different level. Although I lost time on the first and last stage, it was important to finish today where we did, as tomorrow is going to be tough.”

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Rally Portugal 2024 – Day One Report – Friday

The first full day of competition and after the first stage on Thursday Thierry held the lead by a slender six tenths of a second from Seb and Ott.

First stage then, SS2 Mortágua 1 – 18.15 km and Thierry opened the road and found some good pace out there. The stage was narrow and also had damp sections in places. Only one driver was fastest than the Belgian and that was Takamoto. He was fastest of all whilst Ott was third, Thierry between them both. The pace from the Japanese driver lifted him up to second overall, just eight tenths behind Thierry. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest, but as Pepe crashed out behind him, all the other crews were given a notional time.

Onto SS3 Lousã 1 – 12.28 km and Dani showed he was back and in a big way winning the stage from Kalle and Ott. Thierry was seventh fastest and dropped from the lead to third overall. Ott was now ahead of his teammate and in second place, just 1.5 seconds from Takamoto. In WRC2 Pierre-Louis was fastest from Josh and Gus. Oliver remained in the lead of the category from Gus and Yohan.

Dani also won SS4 Góis 1 – 14.30 km from Kalle and Adrien. Takamoto was still in the lead from Ott and Kalle had now moved up into third overall with Thierry falling one position to fourth. Dani was also on the move with his stage winning pace bringing him up to fifth overall. The morning was not going well for Elfyn as his lack of pace saw him fall three positions to eighth overall. In WRC2 there was a change for the lead as Gus went fastest from Pierre-Louis and Yohan. Oliver could only manage the fifth best time and fell to second place, the gap between the Toksport teammates now 2.7 seconds.

The final stage before the tyre fitting zone, there was no mid-day service today, SS5 Arganil 1 – 18.72 km and Thierry was fastest from Kalle and Takamoto. The Belgians pace took him back into second overall. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest from Pierre-Louis and Yohan. This pace took the Swede back into the lead, a huge 8.7 seconds ahead of Gus.

After the break, the stages were run in the opposite direction with SS6 Lousã 2 – 12.28 km coming the first afternoon stage. Seb was fastest from Kalle and Dani. It was all change on the leaderboard with Kalle passing Takamoto who fell from the lead but only by one tenth of a second separated them. Thierry also fell down again to fifth place, but only 3.9 seconds separated the top five. In WRC2 Pierre-Louis was fastest from Yohan and Gus. Oliver remained the category leader but saw his lead trimmed to four seconds.

Dani made SS7 Góis 2 – 14.30 km his, winning the stage, his third of the day from Seb and Kalle. The gap at the top remained really close with Takamoto still just two tenths of a second from Kalle who still led. Dani went past Thierry into fifth place as well. Meanwhile Elfyn and Scott’s day got worse as first there was a puncture and then a problem with the pace notebook and Scott had to use his mobile phone in which he had a back-up. At least they remained in eighth overall. In WRC2 Gus was again fastest from Yohan and Sami and the Brit retook the lead by three tenths from Oliver.

Kalle was fastest in SS8 Arganil 2 – 18.72 km from Ott and Takamoto and just one second separated the two Toyota teammates. Ott was also moving up, passing Seb for third overall. In WRC2 Oliver struck back, passing Gus again for the lead, just one tenth again separating them. What a battle!

The final stage then, SS9 Mortágua 2 – 18.15 km and Seb was quickest from Kalle and Ott and this led to a change in the positions behind Kalle who remained in the lead, his closest challenger being Seb now who was a second behind his teammate and Takamoto was third.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from some of the crews.

Classification after Day One

1 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 1:25.00.4
2 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1.0
3 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +4.7
4 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +5.4
5 D. Sordo C. Carrera Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +17.9
6 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +18.1
7 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +31.8
8 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:43.2
9 G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +2:27.3
10 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Škoda Fabia RS +3:42.1

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä

“It was a great battle today. It was nice to finish it fighting with Seb and there are many drivers still close behind us. I can’t be fully happy with the day as it was a bit of a struggle in places, but we had a clean day and I think we made the most out of it. With no mid-day service today, there are still some things we can work on with the car tonight. Hopefully we can find a bit more feeling and pace and tomorrow can be even better. There’s going to be another long day of pushing ahead and we need to be sharp already from the first stage.”

Sébastien Ogier

“It’s been very close today and exciting for everyone to follow. It was surprising to see the conditions so consistent for everybody in the morning and still the gaps are closer than we usually see on gravel. The feeling was a bit better this afternoon with a better rhythm, and our tyre choice was more aggressive with only one spare and that probably helped our speed. We needed to push in the last stage after an issue with the hybrid in the previous one, as we knew our position tonight was critical for the starting place tomorrow. We could produce a good time, and now we need to keep pushing.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It has not been an easy day. This morning we were leading but still I wasn’t completely happy with my driving. In the afternoon it was better, I tried to make less mistakes and it went well. I was lacking a bit of pace in some stages, but overall, I should be happy because we are in third place and not too far from the lead. It was so tight between all the drivers, competing against world champions and with everybody pushing, so it’s been a fun day. Tomorrow will be more challenging with some different conditions, but I will try to enjoy the driving and keep pushing.”

Elfyn Evans

“It wasn’t the day we hoped for today. We were missing the ultimate feeling behind the wheel and with that came some time loss, and then we had a few different issues this afternoon on top of that. To lose the pacenote book was not ideal but it’s one of those things; Scott is well-prepared and had a backup on his phone, he dealt with it remarkably well and it wasn’t disturbing things too much. In terms of the overall result, it’s looking like a difficult weekend for us now, but we have to keep going. It’s important to try and find a good feeling with the car and be ready to fight for some points on Sunday.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“We had a trouble-free day which is definitely very positive, but on the other side I would say we never really found the feeling we needed in the car. I was pushing and trying to manage it, but generally it was not working out how I wanted. The balance isn’t there, which naturally I feel like it should be. Everybody is very close because the stages are so well known, the characteristics will be very different but it’s still difficult to make a difference when everyone is on the same page. Let’s see what we can do overnight.”

Dani Sordo

“I think today was a tough day for everybody. When you are facing that many stages and you spend that much time in the car, it’s never easy. Despite that everything felt really good in the car, winning three stages at my first rally back since Japan last year is a great start for the rest of the weekend. We know we dropped a bit of time on the last stages of the day, but we will push tomorrow to make up for it. Tomorrow is even longer, so we have plenty of opportunities.”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 05, Rally de Portugal
9 – 12 Mai 2024
Dani Sordo
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Thierry Neuville

“Whilst I would say the stages this year are much more enjoyable; they are definitely harder to navigate. This paired with the fact that I was cleaning the road all day meant that there was no way to go much faster. Despite this, it was a good day for us, and we did as much as we could in these conditions. The car was working well and opting for the two softs this afternoon was definitely the right decision in helping us go faster in our road position. Tomorrow we are hoping to push to try and make the most out of our runs once again.”

 

WRC2

Oliver Solberg

“It’s been quite a good day for us. There have been some issues here and there, some small things with the car, but we are leading, and this is the only thing which matters!

“We knew the roads would be quite rough and abrasive for us and this was definitely the story today. We have been playing with the tyre strategy, trying to make sure we can look after the tyres we have. It’s not always so easy when you are driving with this kind of thing in the mind, but you have to do it.

 

“Obviously we didn’t have the main service today, it was just a remote tyre zone – so we couldn’t make any big changes or work on the car. You have to keep this in the head as well when you’re driving. But OK, we are here.

 

“It’s good to end the day with another stage win, I like that. Now we can look forward to tomorrow.”

 

 

Day Two – Saturday

The second full day will also see the crews tackle 145km’s over nine stages. Who will hold the lead at the end of the day?

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Rally Croatia 2024 – Day One Report – Friday

The first full day of competition saw the crews face 119km’s over eight stages. There was the added addition of the fact there would be no mid-day service. Getting through the longest day without any problems would be tricky. Thierry would open the road due to being the championship leader.

First up was SS1 Krašić – Sošice 1 – 23.63 km and the Belgian pairing would take advantage of their road position and win the first stage from Elfyn and Scott by 6.6 seconds. Starting further back down the starting list was Seb and Vincent, and the Toyota crew were third fastest. In WRC2 Nikolay held the lead from Yohan and Pepe.

Onto SS2 Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 1 – 9.48 km and Elfyn was fastest from Thierry and Ott. The Welshman took 1.7 seconds from the rally leader, the gap now just 4.9 between them. In the M-Sport team, Adrien had a good run that was just 1.8 seconds slower than Ott. In WRC2, Nicolay made two from two, again faster than Yohan and Lauri was third.

The penultimate stage then of the morning loop, SS3 Ravna Gora – Skrad 1 – 10.13 km saw Thierry hit back again from Elfyn, the gap now stretched to 8.4 seconds, whilst Seb was third again. Yohan was quickest in WRC2 from Nikolay and Pepe, with the Frenchman taking 1.7 seconds from Nikolay.

The last stage then before the tyre fitting zone, SS4 Platak 1 – 16.63 km was won by Thierry from Elfyn and Seb. In WRC2 there was no change with the same top three and in the same order, with Nikolay pulling away a little from his French teammate.

Following the break for the tyre fitting zone, the crews returned to SS5 Platak 2 – 16.63 km, with the same stages being run from the morning but in the opposite order. Once again, Thierry was fastest from Elfyn and Seb. The battle continued in WRC2 with Nikolay again fastest from Yohan but only by eight tenths of a second whilst William Creighton in his Fiesta Rally2 was third fastest and this pace moved him up two positions on the leaderboard to eighth in the category.

Into SS6 Ravna Gora – Skrad 2 – 10.13 km Elfyn was fastest from Seb and Ott. There was drama for Thierry who got a puncture in the stage and although he was sixth fastest his lead was now just one tenth of a second! Nikolay continued to lead WRC2 from Yohan and Pepe.

Next up was SS7 Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 2 – 9.48 km and Seb was fastest from Elfyn by just three tenths of a second and Ott third. Thierry lost more time, dropping two seconds to Seb and a little less to Elfyn and this mean we had a change in the leader, with the Welshman now leading from Thierry and Seb now 17.6 from his teammate and in third. In WRC2 Nikolay was again fastest from Yohan whilst Eyvind Brynildsen third in his Skoda.

The final stage then of the day, SS8 Krašić – Sošice 2 – 23.63 km and Seb was fastest from Adrien and Thierry. That was not the most remarkable thing of this though. With Elfyn going sixth fastest with a time of 13:00.8 and Thierry third with a time of 12:59.2 the two championship rivals ended the first full day of the rally with an identical overall time of 1:05:15. 3. They were tied for the lead. Thierry would hold first place courtesy of his four fastest stage times compared to Elfyn’s two. The other amazing result of this stage would be that Seb reduced the lead to just 6.6 seconds putting him right back in the fight for the lead. There was no change at the top of WRC2, but Emil set a good time in this one, going third fastest and he moved up one position to eighth in the category.

2024 FIA World Rally Championship Round 4,
Croatia Rally 2024, 18-21 April 2024
Emil Lindholm, Reeta Hamalainen, i20 N Rally2, Action during Day 1 of WRC 2 Croatia Rally 2024
Photographer: Romain Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

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

Classification after Day One

1 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid 1:05:15
2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +0.00
3 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +6.6
4 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +41.1
5 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +52.7
6 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:37.8
7 A. Mikkelsen T. Eriksen Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +2:37.8
8 G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +3:07.3
9 N. Gryazin K. Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS +3:48.3
10 Y. Rossel A. Dunand Citroën C3 +4:19.4

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“We gave it everything in every stage and now we are equal with Elfyn overnight. Despite this, we still lost important seconds this afternoon with our puncture, and we struggled generally throughout the day with the balance of the car and road conditions. We knew this afternoon would also be tricky as we were the car that was clearing the roads, so there were no lines for us. Generally, we can be happy with the overall result, and tomorrow we will fight to improve our advantage.”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 04, Croatia Rally
18 – 21 March 2024
Thierry Neuville
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Ott Tänak

“At some points we were really frustrated, and our morning was going really downhill. The first loop was quite a struggle; I was fighting with the car while trying to set better times and that caused me to have some moments. Only this afternoon did things come together a bit more and become more consistent in the car. We still didn’t have too much confidence to be committed, but tomorrow we will get back in the car for another show.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“It’s been a tough day. We were hoping to be fighting further up the field, but we are starting to get more confident and gaining the speed to compete. I am having some moments inside the car, and I feel like it’s not working as it should be, so we will analyse and sleep on it and hopefully we’ll go better tomorrow. The most important thing is to get a good feeling in the car, which I had in Alba, because today it doesn’t feel right. We will refocus and come back stronger tomorrow.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“This morning especially the roads were getting dirtier with every car so that helped us to be faster than the guys behind but not quite as fast as Thierry. The first stage was quite slippery but through the morning we got a bit more comfortable, and the pace started to come. It was a pretty good fight this afternoon after Thierry had a puncture: then the gap was very close, and it was just a matter of a few seconds either way in each stage. The car’s generally been good, and the balance has been reasonable, but tomorrow could be quite different with the weather and we’re expecting a challenging day.”

Sébastien Ogier

“It’s been a good day for me, I’m really happy. I pushed quite hard all day and I’m quite satisfied with my driving and with the car: the feeling was great, and it was really good fun to drive. We knew our road position would cost us some time and it did this morning. Then we had some bad luck with the weather at the start of the afternoon, but we managed to do this really good time on the last stage. This was very positive for us as it pushed us back into the fight. Tomorrow could be like the start of another rally with the weather forecast: on these dirty and slippery roads, the rain can make it very challenging.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“We knew that this rally can be very demanding, especially as the conditions get worse with every car because of the gravel and mud from the cuts. Still, I was struggling more than I expected this morning. It was not so easy to find the confidence and drive on the level that I wanted. During the whole day I was looking for ways to improve, and in the afternoon we made some changes to the car setup. After this I had a better feeling at the end of the day, and the last stage was much better. Tomorrow the conditions could be completely different, so it will be a new day and I will try to do my best again.”

Saturday

Day two’s action will see the crews face 108.76km’s over eight stages again. There will be a lunch time service on day two, with the stages being run in the normal format, instead of being reversed. Who will lead the rally at the end of Saturday?

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Rally Croatia 2024 Preview – Return to Tarmac!

The championship moves onto the asphalt roads of Croatia, round four of this season. Of course, this round is likely to see the drivers once again remembering their former competitor Craig Breen.

 

2024 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 04, Croatia Rally
18-21 April 2024
Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Atmosphere, Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Andreas Mikkelsen,Tortstein Eriksen, Cyril Abiteboul
Photographer: Dufour Fabien
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Twelve months on from his passing during a pre-event test ahead of the 2023 edition, the cars from Hyundai have continued to carry the tribute #ForCraig.

Last year’s round was won by Elfyn and Scott for Toyota after Thierry and Martijn in their i20 went off the road when in the lead and although they returned and finished the rally under the usual rally regulations, it was a lowly finish for their pair. They will want to win this weekend and continue their good start to the season.

Second on the road for Elfyn and Scott will be a good position for the pair, with the hope that the roads do not get too dirty from the cuts of the Belgian crew ahead. They took fifth on the road last year and made it second in the standings at the end of the first day before ultimately taking a well-deserved victory.

After a fantastic start to the year, Adrien and Alex come to this round third in the championship after two podiums. It has been great to see them up there for M-Sport Ford, having not put a wheel wrong in three tricky events so far.

Elsewhere in the teams, Andreas Mikkelsen and Seb Ogier return for their part seasons in the Hyundai and Toyota squads respectively.

Let’s hear from the drivers and take a look at the stages as well.

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Croatia is one of the most demanding tarmac rallies I have ever competed in. There are lots of blind corners, crests and jumps – something very unusual for a tarmac event. I like the challenge of Croatia; the profile of the stages and the speed combined with the wide and narrow stages creates a unique test. But the roads are very similar to Belgian roads when it’s raining, so that creates some familiarity for us. The car needs to have the perfect setup for both wet and dry conditions because of the unpredictability of the weather – if the setup is wrong, we lose confidence. I would like to finish on the podium in Croatia: finishing in the top three is crucial to maintaining the championship lead. Our biggest target is to push for a top-step finish.”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship Round 4,
Croatia Rally 2024, 18-21 April 2024
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Atmosphere during Croatia Rally 2024
Photographer: Romain Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Ott Tänak

“Croatia is a fun tarmac event. The grip is low, and the surface can get quite dirty, but at the same time there are a lot of vertical crests and jumps with blind corners. Tarmac is quite rare nowadays on our calendar, we only do a couple of events per year, so it’s special. We have already driven on tarmac in Monte-Carlo, and I would say the feeling there was not bad, and by the end of the rally we were getting quite close. We need to take that experience and get the balance right on the car to maximise the grip; if we do that we should have the package we need for Croatia. We definitely want to do well, so hopefully we get a good feeling from the start. We need a trouble-free event, and we are ultimately always fighting for the win.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“I am feeling very positive after a solid start to the season in Monte-Carlo. It’s great to be returning to the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid for a WRC round, especially after contesting Rally Regione Piemonte. Croatia is a unique challenge, but we have many years of rallying experience that we can use to make good judgements on stage. With the grip and weather changing all the time, good pace notes are an essential to doing well there. Obviously, our road position at the start of the weekend will be a disadvantage, especially if there is rain, due to the amount of mud that gets pulled up. We are ultimately targeting a podium, but if conditions get tricky then a top-five finish is where we want to end up.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“The start of our season has been solid, and we’ve come away from each round with some decent points. We’ve had three quite unique events with very specific challenges and now we come to some more typical European asphalt and gravel rallies, we need to focus on trying to maximise these. Last year was good for us on asphalt, including Croatia, so it’s a rally we look forward to. We know this is a pretty tricky rally with the changeable grip levels and it’s very easy to make a mistake. So, we need to try and have a clean rally but, at the same time, we know that we’ll need to drive quickly to be fighting at the front.”

 

Takamoto Katsuta

“I’m feeling more and more confident on asphalt after my performance on Rally Japan last year, and some stages of Monte-Carlo this year. However, Croatia is one of the trickiest rallies because of the amount of cutting and the number of surface changes. Being able to fully commit when the road is dirty is an area where I can still improve in my asphalt driving, and I want to take this event as an opportunity to continue making progress. It will not be an easy rally, especially with our starting position on Friday and even more so if it rains. So it could be important to have some patience in the beginning and then try to find the rhythm and a good balance to be able to push hard.”

Sébastien Ogier

“I’ve enjoyed my time off since Monte-Carlo and now I’m happy to get back into competition. My test last week was a good chance to get my feeling back in the car, with quite a demanding road: pretty fast with jumps and narrow sections. These are features of the rally as well, but we also know that the weather can be uncertain at this time of year. We don’t have the ideal starting position for an asphalt rally, so we’ll have to assess the conditions and see what we can do. My main motivation is always to reach the podium and fight for victory, but I’m also here to help the team, and with the new points system we can see that Sundays are also now more important than ever.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux

“Croatia is a really special event for me, it was my first time in a world rally car in the championship back in 2021, where I finished 5th. I really like the roads, with the really smooth Tarmac sections, but it’s also one of the most difficult Tarmac events of the season. Because the grip is so changeable, it’s not easy to know where the grip is and where it’s not, the kind of Tarmac changes so much. So we need a lot of precision because there are also a lot of cuts.

 

“It’s a big challenge for all the crews, but an enjoyable rally with all the spectators who come out to watch every year. I’m really looking forward to it, and after two podiums so far I’m hoping that we can continue in that way!”

Grégoire Munster

“I’m looking forward to Croatia and being back on Tarmac, which is the surface where I’m most comfortable. We had a very good pre-event test, where the feeling with the car was really encouraging, so we just want to be in Croatia already! The profile of the rally is a fast Tarmac event, but with a lot of crests, dips and cuts, and the roads can get a bit dirty, but I enjoy it when the conditions are tricky!”

William Creighton

“I’m looking forward to the event after gaining good experience of the Fiesta on Tarmac in the Irish and British championships. The rally is going to be a big challenge with the slippery Croatian tar and the level of competition within the WRC2 category. We will focus on having a good pre-event test and recce so that we can have an enjoyable rally and allow us to make improvements throughout the weekend.”

Summary of the stages.

This seasons Rally Croatia sees the crews tackle 283km’s over 20 stages. The longest day is Friday with 119km’s.

Croatia Rally commences on Thursday morning with Shakedown, followed by a Ceremonial Start at Zagreb’s National and University Library in the evening.

Friday is both the first and longest day of competitive action, boasting an overall stage distance of 119.74km.

Day One also contains no midday service, despite featuring two passes of the rally’s longest stage: Krašić – Sošice (23.63km).

After 108.76km of stages on Saturday, the event concludes on Sunday with four final tests, including the Power Stage of Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 2 (14.24km).

The action starts on Thursday with shakedown on the 3.65 km Okić stage.

Posted on

Safari Rally Kenya 2024 – Day Three Report – Sunday

The final day then for this year on the amazing roads in Kenya and the crews faced 74km’s over six stages. Gregoire Munster returned to the action and would open the road throughout the final day.

First up was the super rough SS14 Malewa 1 – 8.33 km, a stage with not just rocks but also bedrock throughout the stage, between sandy sections. Thierry was fastest from his teammate, Ott and Esapekka. Both Takamoto and Esapekka suffered punctures in the stage though. In WRC2 Gus was fastest from Oliver and Kajetan and the three remained in the top positions in the category.

Into SS15 Oserian 1 – 18.33 km, which was not only longer, but also faster. Elfyn was quickest from Ott and Thierry. Oliver was again fastest in WRC2 from Gus and Nicolas. The Brit was feeling much better today and managing his pace on the stage.

The final morning stage then, SS16 Hell’s Gate 1 – 10.53 km a well-known stage and is super-fast as well. Elfyn was fastest in the stage from Ott and Takamoto. There was drama for Thierry as he hit a very, very large rock in the stage, breaking his right-rear suspension. Once again Oliver was fastest from Gus and Nicolas in WRC2.

After the service break it was back to SS17 Malewa 2 – 8.33 km and Thierry was again fastest from his teammates Ott and Esapekka. Elfyn lost a huge amount of time but was taking it easy over the rocky roads. In WRC2 Oliver was again fastest from Gus and Charles Munster.

The second run of SS18 Oserian 2 – 18.33 km saw Ott go fastest from Thierry and Esapekka, whilst Elfyn lost a huge amount of time which was odd given that he was fastest in the stage earlier. Oliver was again fastest from Gus and Nicolas in WRC2.

Time then for the final stage, SS19 Hell’s Gate 2[Power Stage] – 10.53 km and Thierry was fastest from Ott, Esapekka, Kalle and Elfyn. It was a surprise to see Kalle set a time that ultimately put him ahead of Elfyn in the power stage points, but of course the crews do not get the split times in the cars and have not for some time. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest from Gus and Kajetan.

Let’s take a look at the top ten and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Safari Rally Kenya

1 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 3:36.04.0
2 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:37.8
3 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +2:25.1
4 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +4:20.2
5 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +10:17.5
6 G. Greensmith J. Andersson Škoda Fabia RS +18:05.4
7 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Škoda Fabia RS +19:28.5
8 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +21:02.0
9 J. Serderidis F. Miclotte Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +26:13.3
10 K. Kajetanowicz M. Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia RS +26:34.4

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s special to be able to win the Safari for the second time. This event is so tough and it’s also a legendary one for Toyota: we have always been good here and we are still continuing that record. Like they say in Africa, the car in front is always a Toyota. A big thanks to the team, because everybody made a big effort to make the car work so well. I think we did a good job, I think you cannot do a better Safari than what we did, with no issues and clever driving. Today was difficult, having to drive the roughest stage on the calendar twice when you have a huge lead, trying to avoid everything, it’s not easy. We just needed to stick to the plan, and it worked out.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It’s a very nice feeling to achieve this second place and to be on the podium again in Kenya. It was a tough rally like always, so we need to say a huge thanks to the team because they prepared very well, and the car was working so well. I made some mistakes yesterday and we got the punctures, but I could always trust the car. When we needed to push, we were able to push, and the times were good. Reliability is a strong point for Toyota and I’m very proud to drive this car.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s not been an easy weekend for us. At least we could reach the end of the rally, which is a positive thing, but we wanted more from this weekend. Today we had good speed at points but there were just a few little issues, so we didn’t get as many points as we’d like. The first loop was not easy: the opening stage was extremely rough, and we were probably too conservative there compared to the others. In the Power Stage we gave it a go but already in the first half it was very difficult.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“A good weekend, but for sure we could have done better. Unfortunately, we got hit by some problems but despite this, we kept fighting. Today there was an opportunity to take loads of points – we scored 11 out of 12, so we’re satisfied to be the second-best performer today. We would have loved to get more, especially after three consecutive difficult years here in Kenya. Still room for improvement but we have managed to increase the lead in the championship and got a good road position for Croatia. On to the next one!”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship Round 3,
Safari Rally Kenya 2024, 27-31 March 2024
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 3 of WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2024
Photographer: Romain Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Ott Tänak

“Our target was always not to push to the maximum, but to aim for the podium with a clean run, so our retirement on Friday was of course frustrating. Although we had to face a number of issues in the car and on the road our troubles had nothing to do with reliability. Our pace is definitely getting closer to the others. Croatia will be a completely different rally even to Monte-Carlo, so let’s see how we do. We want to get back on track; the championship is very young, but we need to get back into our normal rhythm.”

Esapekka Lappi

“The speed this weekend was good from the beginning, even yesterday when we were opening the road, so we need to be pleased with that. All of our cars were quite competitive in terms of pace but unfortunately reliability was not with us this weekend and that is reflected in the results. At least my team-mates were able to get a lot of points from today and it was great to get that 1-2-3 in the Power Stage. I am looking forward to my next event with the team.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux

“It’s been a fantastic weekend, the team have been doing a really good job the whole time, the car has been really reliable, and we had no issues at all with the car. I was really pleased with that, so congratulations to the team, the result belongs to them as well. Ok we have been sensible, but it has been really positive. For us it’s two podiums in two rallies and a really great start to the season, we are still third in the championship so now we need to continue. We have had one podium on snow, one on gravel, so we just need one on Tarmac now!”

Jourdan Serderidis

“We have finished 9th overall, so it looks like Kenya suits me quite well! M-Sport has had a very positive event for the whole team across Rally1 and Rally2, it’s been great to be a part of it.”

Grégoire Munster

“It’s not the result we expected, but I think we were driving carefully with a smart approach, and at the end it could have been a top five finish. Unfortunately, on Saturday morning we hit a rock and didn’t manage to repair the car, even though we really gave it our best. A bit disappointing but at least we were able to come back on Sunday to do the kilometres, grab the experience and take a couple of points for the championship. Even though it’s not the result we wanted, I think there’s still some positives to take home and we are already looking forward to Croatia and being back on Tarmac.”

 

Oliver Solberg

“I have to be happy with this result,” said the 22-year-old Oliver. “Of course, I am a little bit disappointed. I came here to win, but this rally is a big, big challenge and to come away with points for second and the championship lead is good.

“The chance to win was lost on the first day, when we got two punctures on two stages on Friday. But we said all of the time that this rally, the Safari Rally has some surprises and some excitement and that’s part of the appeal – it’s part of the challenge of this place.

“I absolutely love the rally; I love the people and the atmosphere around here. It’s just fantastic, every time you get out of the car you are surrounded by people smiling, wanting a selfie everybody is just happy and pleased to see you. It’s a very cool place and very cool rally and I’m already looking forward to coming back!”

“Like we said at the start of the year, we need to be strategic about the programme. I really want to win this title this season, it’s what everything is geared towards. So, that makes this event a success. We have points and the championship lead – and some fastest times which is nice.

“Once again, Elliott did a fantastic job on this event, he’s the best! And the team and everybody around me, I can’t thank them enough for the help and support in what we do. To come here and drive this car on these roads – it’s a pure pleasure.”

Summary

Kalle and Jonne have repeated their victory in this event after last winning in 2022. Takamoto took second place to repeat the feat from 2021 when the round returned to the championship. Finally, Adrien took a brilliant third place, his second ever podium as well. It was a clever and controlled drive from the Frenchman which delivered this result for him, Alex and M-Sport Ford team. Well, what an amazing rally and a very strong result for Toyota, taking another win.

Next up is Rally Croatia over the weekend of the 18th to 21 of April, when the crews get to tackle the first full asphalt rally of the season.

 

Here’s the points standings.

 

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round three

1 T. Neuville 67
2 E. Evans 61
3 A. Fourmaux 46
4 O. Tänak 33
5 K. Rovanperä 31
6 T. Katsuta 30
8 E. Lappi 23
9 O. Solberg 12
10 A. Mikkelsen 6

 

 

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round three

1 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 131
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 127
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 72
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Safari Rally Kenya 2024 – Day Two Report – Saturday

Saturday saw the crews face 160km’s over six stages. Esapekka and Ott both returned to the action with the Finn opening the road.

The first stage, SS8 Soysambu 1 – 29.32 km saw Takamoto set the fastest time from Esapekka and Kalle. Ott was the first to have a problem, with his bonnet clip on the right-hand side not having been fully engaged and leading to around a minute lost as the Estonian had to stop to secure it again. The crew had been doing some work in the engine bay leading to this problem. Meanwhile Elfyn also had to stop after getting a puncture in the stage, dropping down from second overall to fifth. The drivers that benefitted with this were Takamoto, Thierry and Adrien, moving into second, third and fourth respectively. Also having trouble was Gregoire who damaged his suspension In WRC2, Oliver was fastest from Gus and Diego. The young Swede was on the move in the category, now holding second overall and three minutes from category leader Gus.

Into SS9 Elmenteita 1 – 15.08 km, so named because of the lake nearby and Thierry was fastest in this one, from teammate EP and Kalle. Gregoire did not make the stage, having not been able to repair his rear suspension and would retire for the day. Kalle now held a lead of 58.3 seconds over teammate Takamoto. In WRC2 Gus was fastest from Oliver and Kajetan. The Brit was feeling a little better as well.

The last stage before service, SS10 Sleeping Warrior 1 – 36.08 km, called this due to the nearby mountain which looks like a sleeping Masai Warrior, and Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Elfyn. The Belgian’s pace took him ahead of Takamoto into second overall, although Kalle now held an increased lead of almost a minute and a half. Both Takamoto and Elfyn unfortunately suffered punctures in this one, but at least the Welshman did not drop anymore positions on the leaderboard. In WRC2, Oliver was fastest from Gus by a huge 41.5 seconds and cut the gap to the category leader to two minutes and twenty-two seconds. Kajetan was third fastest and remained in third position.

After the lunch and service break, which saw a very big rainstorm come over the service park and we saw the fitting of the snorkel to the Hyundai as well came SS11 Soysambu 2 – 29.32 km. Takamoto again claimed this stage from Elfyn and Kalle. The Japanese driver regained second place overall and Adrien was now third after Thierry suffered a mechanical problem with his fuel pump and having stopped a number of times in the stage and ended up losing two minutes and thirty-eight seconds. His closest competitor was Elfyn who was twenty seconds ahead now. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest again by five and a half seconds over category leader Gus, the Brit lead now reduced to two minutes and sixteen seconds. No big drama for the Brit.

At last, Elfyn was fastest in SS12 Elmenteita 2 – 15.08 km even though he had yet another puncture. Ott and Adrien were second and third. Thierry continued to suffer with problems and lost a further one minute and fifty-eight seconds, although remained in fifth overall due to the lead he held over WRC2 leader Gus. The Brit remained firmly in charge of the support category actually winning the stage from Oliver and Kajetan.

Finally, the last stage of the day, SS13 Sleeping Warrior 2 – 36.08 km and the clouds built up, but the rain did not really arrive as many had thought it would. There was drama however for some. EP had to pull over for some cars to pass him as he suffered a smashed windscreen which was on his side of the car from an early point in the stage. The reason I hear you ask? The wildlife was the reason, as two birds was hit on the stage, but not at the same time. Two drivers also suffered punctures with Elfyn (yes again) and Adrien both having problems. Quite astonishing really, but given the rocks on the road, in a way not surprising. Ott was fastest from Takamoto and Kalle.

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

Classification after Day Two

1 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 2:48.50.2
2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +2:08.9
3 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +3:13.3
4 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +5:35.6
5 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +11:48.6
6 G. Greensmith J. Andersson Škoda Fabia RS +15:02.0
7 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Škoda Fabia RS +16:57.0
8 K. Kajetanowicz M. Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia RS +21:15.7
9 J. Serderidis F. Miclotte Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +21:56.4
10 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +21:58.1

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s nice to end today with a good lead. This morning we had the plan to just take it quite carefully with a steady pace and make no mistakes. Our time on Sleeping Warrior was good: everyone had some issues and I felt I could manage the pace quite well. I was just trying to manage the risk, to not push so hard in the rough or tricky places, and you also need a bit of luck that everything goes well. It’s not always so enjoyable driving like that, just trying to go around every single rock, but it has paid off so far. Tomorrow is still a tough day, and we will try to finish the job.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Today started very well with a fastest time: the car felt good, it was not a big push but still the time was good, so I was quite happy. We expected Sleeping Warrior would be tough, especially as the new section at the end was full of random rocks that you can’t see because they’re hidden in the grass. Unfortunately, we hit a big one, which felt very disappointing because I was trying to avoid problems, but almost everybody had trouble there. In the end, I’m very happy with what I have done so far. Tomorrow the main priority is to bring the car to the finish, and maybe there is a possibility to gain some points for the team as well.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s not been a good day for us. There were some good moments: I felt a bit better in the car than yesterday and the pace was OK at points. But to have three punctures during the day really set us back. The outcome was not what we wanted, and it feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. We have to try and get as many points as we can from tomorrow but it’s still a long and difficult Sunday and we need to get to the finish to get any points. We just have to focus on driving and see what we can do.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“I am really disappointed with the outcome from today. It’s hard when you put a lot of effort into your preparations for the day and you don’t get the reward. Despite being competitive all weekend, the car developed some issues that we couldn’t fix ourselves, and we had to continue with them for the whole loop. We kept fighting and we will keep going tomorrow – it is going to be a challenging day and we still need to get to the finish, but we will push and see what we can do.”

Ott Tänak

“It has been such a busy day; there was always something going on and we couldn’t catch a break. In the end, this is Safari Rally Kenya, and it is no surprise that anything can happen, so we have to keep ourselves motivated. Our team has put a lot of energy to get us here today after what happened yesterday, so we have no choice but to keep going. Tomorrow is a different day again and it is difficult to say what will happen, but for sure we would like to score as many points as possible – this will be crucial.”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 02, Safari Rally Kenya
27 – 31 March 2024
Ott Tanak
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Esapekka Lappi

“When things start to go wrong, they go really wrong. Today was mainly about punctures and animals crossing that prevented us from recovering as much as we could have with the good pace we have shown when we were able to. Tomorrow we have some points available, and if the speed is similar to what we had today, then hopefully we can catch some people.”

 

Škoda Motorsport (Toksport)

Oliver Solberg

“Today has been OK, it’s difficult because we are here to race and, of course, you want to push and take the best time possible. But at the same time, we are second and that would give us good championship points.

“The gap ahead is just a little bit too big to try to make a big difference with the driving and every time you are anywhere near the limit, then you are taking the big risk. We didn’t have any issues, but it was so difficult to drive at times, so many rocks around! We had a little bit of rain in the last stage, but it could have been a lot worse.

“This is an incredible place to come to compete – when you are driving down the road sections, some of the sights, the wildlife and the scenery, it’s just amazing. And, of course, the people are fantastic, so friendly and so happy to see us. The feeling is the same from us!

“Tomorrow the plan will be the same. It’s a long day, we have 74 kilometres coming – that’s more than the usual Sunday – and we want to bring home the points. Let’s see what happens.”

 

Summary

Well, what a day two! The rain came but did not affect the stages, mainly falling in the service park. Through all the problems came two-time champions Kalle and Jonne and showed why they are double world champions.

Of course, the points for 1st to 10th positions are locked in place and Elfyn somehow outscored his championship rival Thierry by a couple of points. Now, all the crews need to make it to the end of the rally to actually gain these points.

The final day will see the crews tackle 74km’s over six stages. What will the day bring?

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Safari Rally Kenya 2024 – Day One Report – Friday

The first full day of the Safari Rally saw the crews tackle 132km’s over six stages and there was drama in all the stages. The first stage held on Thursday in Nairobi saw Thierry hold the lead over Ott, with Kalle in third.

Of course, heading into the Friday’s stages would be Thierry who would open the road throughout the day.

First up then was SS2 Loldia 1 – 19.17 km and Kalle was fastest from Esapekka and Ott. The Finns pace saw him move into the lead from Ott and fellow Finn EP who jumped two positions on the leader board and into third overall. Unfortunately, Elfyn suffered a puncture in this stage and could only manage the sixth best time. In WRC2 Gus was fastest from Oliver and Kajetan and these three held the last three positions in the overall top ten.

Next was SS3 Geothermal 1 – 13.12 km and the fast stage saw Thierry hit a bank on the outside of a left-hand corner, damaging his rear tyre and also the bodywork on the right-hand side. The Belgian dropped back just one place to fifth overall. Meanwhile Kalle was fastest in the stage from Esapekka and Ott. The two Hyundai drivers swapped positions as well, Esapekka now into second overall. Meanwhile in WRC2 Gus was fastest again from Kajetan and Nicolas, whilst Oliver suffered a puncture and lost a minute and fifty-one seconds and fell five positions to seventh in the category.

The last morning stage, SS4 Kedong 1 – 31.50 km and the longest stage of the day as well. The top positions were again filled by Kalle, Ott and Esapekka. Welshman, Elfyn was on the move, passing Thierry for fifth position. In WRC2 Oliver suffered a second puncture in the second stage in a row and the Swede lost a further one minute and forty-six seconds. Meanwhile Gus remained quickest from Charles Munster and Diego Dominguez.

After the lunch time service break, SS5 Loldia 2 – 19.17 km and Kalle continued his good run winning from Takamoto and Elfyn, a Toyota 1-2-3! Unfortunately, EP failed to finish the stage after suffering transmission failure. Ott now moved into second overall and Takamoto was third. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest from Gus and Kajetan. The Pole moved back into second place in the category, pushing Diego down to third.

Into SS6 Geothermal 2 – 13.12 km and Kalle was making this look easy, even though it certainly was not, winning the stage from his teammates Takamoto and Elfyn. It was a second stage disaster for the Hyundai team, with Ott crashing out after hitting a rock in the middle of a corner and damaging his steering on the right-hand side. Gus continued to set the pace in WRC2 winning the stage from Oliver and Nicolas. The Frenchman moved up one place as well and into third place.

The final stage then of the day, and Kalle completed a full six stage winning streak in SS7 Kedong 2 – 31.50 km going fastest again from Thierry and Elfyn. The Welshman’s pace moved him ahead of teammate Takamoto. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest again from Gus and Kajetan and the Swede moved into third place in the category.

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

Classification after Day One

1  K. Rovanperä  J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 1:16.22.6
2  E. Evans  S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +56.9
3  T. Katsuta  A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:00.8
4  T. Neuville  M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +1:07.3
5  A. Fourmaux  A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +1:46.6
6  G. Munster  L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +3:34.2
7  G. Greensmith  J. Andersson Škoda Fabia RS +6:51.3
8  J. Serderidis  F. Miclotte Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +9:11.7
9  K. Kajetanowicz  M. Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia RS +10:14.3
10  O. Solberg  E. Edmondson Škoda Fabia RS +10:28.8

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Kalle Rovanperä

“It has been a really good day for us. Our plan was to try and make the most of our starting place today. I felt I could manage the pace quite well. I was quite happy pushing hard when the conditions were good, and then especially this afternoon taking care of the car and the tyres in the rough places and still we could have good times. It’s still a long rally ahead and even a lead of almost one minute is not a lot here because anything can happen: if some big rain comes we know that the gaps can be huge, and you can lose a lot of time. So, we’ll just try to keep on working the same way as we did today.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been a tough day out there like it always is on the Safari Rally. It’s very easy to get caught out here as we’ve seen again today. We didn’t have the best morning: it was just not really flowing and working as well as I’d like, and we didn’t have the speed we wanted either. I was struggling a bit with the balance and my own rhythm and was maybe a bit too conservative in places. After making some changes in service, we made a step in the right direction this afternoon and the times were a bit better, and I enjoyed the driving a bit more. The gaps behind are still quite tight and with such a long day tomorrow with perhaps some unpredictable conditions, we can’t count too much yet.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It’s been a pretty good day and a clean day. The stages were quite rough like we expected, but the car was working well, and I felt comfortable. I was just following my strategy to be patient and not do anything crazy. I felt good in the first two stages this afternoon, the times were good even though I was not really pushing. Then on the last one with a soft surface, you need to really push to gain the time and if you’re careful like I was, you’re easily losing time. Tomorrow is a big day where anything can happen, and I will just keep doing what I’m doing, try to stay on the road and focus on myself.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“It was a challenging and exhausting day. We were fighting with a few little issues, but it was mainly the puncture which cost us time. We had a bit of a moment this afternoon where I completely lost the steering and we ended up on two wheels, but luckily we got away with it. I think we fought hard, but we would have preferred better results, so we will keep fighting tomorrow. It’s not nice to see my team-mates retire – another bad day here in Kenya for us – which also made it hard for me to attack with full confidence in the really rough sections in case I faced the same issues.”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship Round 3,
Safari Rally Kenya 2024, 27-31 March 2024
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 1 of WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2024
Photographer: Romain Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Ott Tänak

“The incident that caused our retirement was nothing special, but I guess it’s typical of Safari Rally Kenya. The rock was kind of hidden and I couldn’t really react as the road was narrow with banks on the side. I had nowhere to go so I had to take the rock, but the rock was far too big, and it put us off the road. I hit the bank and that caused the damage to the car; there was nothing we could do to avoid it.”

Esapekka Lappi

“The day was going well until we had to retire due to a gearbox issue; first the car was front-wheel drive only after an acceleration, and ultimately I couldn’t move the car, so we had to roll back from the hairpin because we were stuck. There was no major impact or noise – of course there were plenty of impacts on the stages, but none of them should have caused this problem. It is a shame as the splits were good, as was this morning. We lost ground to Kalle, but I was very satisfied with the speed that I had in the car, and it was going well until that failure.”

 

Oliver Solberg

“The Safari Rally is never going to be an easy one and today we really had to work hard,” said the Monster Energy-backed Oliver. “The two punctures were frustrating and it’s quite random with this surface. It’s so rough in places, it’s hard to know where the punctures are coming. You come through some sections, and you feel a few impacts and you think there is going to be a problem and there’s nothing.

“The main thing is that we are back on the podium, and we have a very long way still to run in this rally. With some weather changes maybe, coming tomorrow, anything can happen – the priority now is to stay on the podium for WRC2 and survive whatever else the Safari is going to throw at us.”

 

Summary

What a Friday we were treated to then! Kalle was really on form throughout the day taking every stage win. He leads a Toyota 1-2-3 after the first full day. His teammates Elfyn and Takamoto both had mixed days but kept it clean to hold second and third positions.

At Hyundai all three of their crews suffered problems, with Ott crashing out, Esapekka suffering a mechanical failure and Thierry getting a puncture but at least being able to continue. The three will be back tomorrow and Thierry will hope he can gain some positions and maybe get ahead of Elfyn.

It was a solid day for the M-Sport team, with Adrien and Gregoire delivering good pace and the pair are holding fifth and sixth overall. Let’s see what Saturday’s action brings.

 

Saturday will have 160km’s over six stages. Maybe there will be some rain that will come and change the conditions in the stages?

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Safari Rally Kenya 2024 Preview

Time for the third round of the season and the championship moves to East Africa and this iconic event. The extra challenge of this round is that it is much earlier this year than previous years and held at the more traditional time of Easter.

This brings the added challenge of much more tricky weather conditions and heavy rain which has made the recce days very tricky. More rain is predicted throughout the three day’s of competition, which will make the 367km’s over the 19 stages certainly a challenge.

The longest day of the rally will be Saturday with 160km’s over six stages. Friday features 132km’s over six stages as well, with Sunday featuring 74km’s over four stages.

Let’s hear from the drivers then.

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

What are the main challenges you expect to face on the Safari Rally? “This year it should be the weather conditions. With the rally moving to March, it’s the rain period in Kenya, and it’s the conditions we are most afraid of because there could be heavy rain which could make the driving close to impossible in some places. Other than this it’s a long and demanding event, but if the rain comes it will be a bit of a lottery.”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 02, Safari Rally Kenya
27 – 31 March 2024
Thierry Neuville
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

It’s been a strong start to the 2024 season, how much confidence does this give you for Kenya? “Not more than any other year to be honest because the three times I have done this rally I have had technical issues. So, when I look back over the past results, I am not really confident. However, we have prepared as good as we can and the team has worked very hard so let’s see what is possible.”

What are the advantages and disadvantages of opening the road on leg one? “It’s hard to predict, actually. In Kenya, in normal conditions, there’s no real advantage or disadvantage because it’s not like a traditional gravel rally with its clay surface. With rainy weather, it might be a big advantage but also a disadvantage because in the case of heavy rain, if we are first on the road, we might have to empty the water puddles, especially when the rain has stopped before the stage starts. If there is continuous rain or it starts raining while the stage is running it will probably be an advantage. That’s because you might be able to get through the stage without getting hit by the rain, but the cars that run 10 or 15 minutes later might have the whole stage in full wet and we have seen that in the past. But in dry conditions it’s neither an advantage or a disadvantage.”

What do you need from your Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid to be successful on the Safari Rally? “The main thing is reliability. It doesn’t need to be the fastest car, but it needs to be strong.”

It’s a very spectacular event, where does it rank among your favourite WRC events? “I like the event, but I’ve never had any good results so it’s not my favourite for that reason. Driving-wise it’s an adventure and that’s what I like, and also because it’s different to all the other events. It can be very brutal and that’s not so nice.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“The Safari Rally is the most extreme event on the calendar so it’s always an exciting one to go to. It’s more about the adventure than the pure thrill of driving but I’m looking forward to it as always. We’ve made a decent start to the year, taking good points from the first two rounds, but the Safari can be a bit of a lottery. We have to find that balance between pushing and looking after the car and see if we can be at the finish with good points, but that’s easier said than done. We’ve seen before that when it rains it can be very difficult, and we’re potentially looking at much more difficult conditions for a greater proportion of the rally and that could make things quite challenging.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s really exciting to go back to Kenya. It’s been quite a good rally for me and also for our team: we have got some really amazing results there. The atmosphere is also great so I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be interesting to go there at this time of the year, during the rainy season. We expect that it could be much muddier, and already in the previous years we have seen a bit of rain and it is always really tricky and slippery in those conditions. The biggest challenge will be to have reliable pace for the whole week, be consistent and stay out of trouble. Rally Sweden didn’t go as planned, so I’m really hungry to get a good result in Kenya.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“I’m of course really excited and looking forward to the Safari Rally: it’s a rally where Toyota has been really strong. But this time we will go to Kenya in a very different part of the year, so there could be more challenges in terms of the weather conditions. We have tried to prepare for all the conditions we could have, but you never know how it will really be until you get there. On this kind of rally it’s always important to have a reliable car, which I think is our strongest point. I was feeling disappointed after Sweden but I’ve been looking forward, preparing for this rally and to do my best to get a good result for the team. This is my next target and I’m feeling good.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux

“I’m really pleased to be back in Kenya! I missed it last year, but I had quite a good result in 2021. The feeling and the atmosphere of this rally, with the wildlife and the amazing people living there, is really special.

“We know it’s going to be a tough event with the rainy season, and I think we’ll see a very different Kenya than in the last few years. There are many things that can happen on this event this year, so let’s see and try to deliver a good result on this rally. We want to try to keep third in the championship, keeping close to the others, that’s the main goal for now.”

Grégoire Munster

“I’m really looking forward to Kenya because it’s a rally I really appreciate, I had the chance to do it last year in the Rally2. I also competed on the classic rally with Jourdan in historic cars recently. It’s such a challenge to drive there, you can be fast in some sections but you also need to be really cautious in others, it makes the adventure so beautiful.

“The environment in which we are driving feels a bit like a dream with the wildlife and the nature. The weather changes can happen so quickly, if it rains it is often very heavy and it alters the whole profile of the stage. That makes it a big challenge and that’s why Rally Kenya is so difficult and so enjoyable for drivers at the same time.”

Jourdan Serderidis

“Kenya is definitely one of my best memories and my best result so far in WRC, so I did not see any reason why not to enjoy the event one more time! I look forward to working close to my friend Grégoire again and with our fantastic Puma Rally1.”

WRC2

Oliver Solberg

“There’s definitely something very special about the Safari – and especially at this earlier time of the year. We have snow again here in Sweden, so going from here to the heat of Africa is so different and that variety of landscape and terrain is just what we need in the world championship.

“I love the Safari. It’s really a unique event in the championship – every stage can be like a different rally, the variety across the route is huge. The roads are amazing and the chance to drive through a place where the elephants are close – but not too close – is something very, very special.

“I have done some gravel testing since Sweden, so I have this surface a little bit in my mind now, but I’m not sure the roads were like the ones in Kenya. We will do the official test on Sunday, that’s when we can take a good feeling for the set-up. Last year was so enjoyable, it’s good that Elliott and I have that experience. But this year could be a little bit different with the weather. Nobody really knows what’s coming, I think it’s just before the rainy season – will it rain? I think the one thing we can say is that it will be quite hot.

“The other thing we can say is that we’re going to have a lot of competition. There’s a really good number of cars in WRC2, which is great. For me, the priority is 100% on 25 points. To achieve that, we need a good, clean rally with a big focus on every stage.”

Summary

We are set then for a spectacular rally and with all the Rally1 cars likely to be running the key piece of equipment for this rally only, the return of the snorkel to the top cars is a nod to the likely heavy rain that will be falling on the stages throughout the weekend.

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