WRC SAFARI RALLY: ROVANPERA TAKES THE LEAD, TOYOTA SCORES 1-2-3-4

World Rally Championship Leader, Kalle Rovanpera from Finland once again takes the lead emerging victorious in the Naivasha Safari Rally taking his fourth win out of the six events this year in Naivasha on the 25th June, 2022.

This was unexpected after he arrived on Thursday’s opening in the Super Special Stage in Nairobi where he almost rolled his GR Yaris, getting a puncture in the process.

Despite all the obstacles, Finn led home Elfyn Evans by 52.8s alongside Takamoto Katsuta third (1m 42.7s behind) and Sebastien Ogier fourth (2m10.3s back) to score Toyota’s 1-2-3-4 in WRC since the 1993 Safari Rally.

However the 21- year old proved his fans wrong on Friday when he admirably surprised them on Kenya’s deep fesh-fesh sand and wreaked Havoc with the crew of WRC ending the day with a 14.6s lead defeating Elfyn Evans.

Evans, however, was disturbed by a windscreen washer issue that severally limited his visibility giving Rovanpera the win and was able to end the Saturday race with a 40.3s lead thus giving him the control. Evans, however, elected to step down on Sunday given the nature of the car-breaking stages thus securing his second podium of the campaign.

“Hell’s Gate was quite rough. I just tried to avoid all the stones,” said Rovanpera.

Kalle Rovanpera is a Finnish World Rally Championship driver who drives for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT alongside his codriver, Jonne Halttunen. He is the son of the former World Rally Championship driver Harri Rovanpera.

This year’s Safari Rally which was a four-day event marked the sixty-ninth running of the Safari Championship.

According to FIA World Rally Championship, challenging dirt roads, stunning picturesque scenery and exotic wildlife are the classic features of Safari Rally Kenya. The teams were supposed to tackle rocky and rutted tracks alongside unpredictable weather conditions, which would transform dry and dusty trails into muddy bogs.

By: Its-Gatwiri.