• Rovanpera wrapped up his day with a 22.4seconds advantage over Elfyn Evans while Ott Tanak settled for third, 25.3 seconds behind the leader.
• Loeb’s teammates Adrien Fourmaux and Craig Breen also retired, handing M-Sport a major blow in their quest for the coveted Safari title.
Image: Jack Owuor
Series leader Kalle Rovanpera took the overnight lead on Day Two of the WRC Safari Rally after longtime leader Sebastien Ogier failed to master the repeat run of the 31-km fesh fesh section in Naivasha.
Rovanpera had his run campaign effectively sewn up when Ogier punctured on the second pass of the Kedong speed test.
The Finn racked up his third stage win of the day at Kedong 2 where Ogier returned eighth fastest behind the wheel of a GR Yaris Rally1.
Rovanpera wrapped up his day with a 22.4seconds advantage over Elfyn Evans while Ott Tanak settled for third, 25.3 seconds behind the leader.
Rovanpera was all smiles, saying: “It is such a good day in the office. The first two stages weren’t that bad, I really enjoyed that bit of the route. But the closing Kedong test was really tough. Luckily, we didn’t make any mistakes there. The most important thing, for now, is that the car is here and we are here, so I’m happy.”
Following a sublime drive in Thursday’s Kasarani Super Special, Ogier claimed the day’s opening stage on Loldia 1. But he lost the lead to his Toyota teammate Elfyn when he timed fourth fastest on the first pass at Geothermal.
The eight-time champion (Ogier) regained his lead on Loldia 2 where he beat Takamoto Katsuta by a 4.6-seconds margin to win the stage.
On a sad note earlier in the morning, Ogier’s namesake Sebastien Loeb became the event’s first casualty following engine gremlins on his Puma Rally1.
Loeb’s teammates Adrien Fourmaux and Craig Breen also retired, handing M-Sport a major blow in their quest for the coveted Safari title.
Loeb retired on the transport road section after Kedong 1 and will incur a 10-minute penalty per every stage missed on loop two should his M-Sport mechanics manage to fix the damage in time for tomorrow.
“It’s game over for today. Tomorrow, we are not really sure if we can repair and restart the rally. But we will decide what to do later after we see what we have broken in the car,” said Loeb.
“I finished the stage but the car stopped just 5km from the end of the section as we were headed for the first service.”
After a fifth overall position in 2002, Loeb has definitely put his maiden Safari aspirations in huge jeopardy. He has no
realistic chance of catching up with the frontrunners when penalty dynamics play out.
Loeb had just cleared the 31-Km Kedong Stage when smoke was seen from beneath the hood and was forced to stop at the side of the road.
*Day Two-Leaderboard*
1. #69 (Fin) K. Rovanperä (Gr Yaris Rally1) 1:20:58.1
2. #33 (Gbr) E. Evans (Gr Yaris Rally1) 1:21:20.5
3. #8 (Est ) O. Tänak (I20 N Rally1) 1:21:23.4
4. #18 (Jpn) T. Katsuta (Gr Yaris Rally1) 1:21:24.7
5. #11 (Bel) T. Neuville ( I20 N Rally1i) 1:21:55.6
6. #1 (Fra) S. Ogier ( Gr Yaris Rally1) 1:23:06.3
7. #2 (Swe) O. Solberg ( I20 N Rally1) 1:25:25.2
8. #20 (Pol) K. Kajetanowicz ( Fabia Evo) 1:30:49.2
9. #42 (Irl) C. Breen (Puma Rally1) 1:31:22.7
10. #22 (Usa) S. Johnston 1:32:02.7