Cautious Rovanpera takes giant stride towards Safari double

Kalle Rovanperä made a giant stride towards claiming his second career WRC Safari Rally Kenya title after gaining a massive 2:08.9 minutes advantage ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing stablemate Takamoto Katsuta.

The 'Flying Finn' had his campaign effectively sewn up albeit with a cautious approach on the penultimate day.

His race adversaries hit trouble on the repeated Saturday’s three-stage loop which revolved around Elementeita, the iconic Sleeping Warrior and Soysambu. 

Following Friday's six-stage clean sweep, a clever Rovanperä resorted to a more conservative approach on the energy-sapping terrain adjacent to Lake Elmenteita. 

Saturday’s leg was characterised by fluctuating conditions, ranging from dry and dusty to wet and muddy as Belgian Thierry Neuville, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta suffered significant setbacks. 

But the sleek Rovanperä was one of few Rally1 stars who savoured a clean run on a test laden with high attrition rates. 

Navigated by compatriot Jonne Halttunen in a Yaris GR Rally Hybrid, Rovanperä said: “It was not easy, different conditions and different terrains. We had a good plan not to take too much risk and it worked out well. It's situations like this where you can do well by driving clean. I took care of the tyres and was quite sensible.”

Takamoto closed Saturday’s penultimate day in second spot ahead of the all-French Puma Rally1 Hybrid crew of Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria who are hoping to gift the British manufacturer its first-ever Safari podium since the return of WRC status in Kenya in 2021.

Asked about his steady run on Saturday, M-Pesa sponsored Fourmaux quipped: “I stuck to my plan, I’m happy with the car so far and I'm just going to be careful. I tried to push a little bit more in the afternoon. 

Neuville  Hyundai i20 N encountered fuel system issues during the afternoon’s opening stage at Soysambu. Neuville dropped more time as he nursed the problem through the remaining two stages, which allowed JKatsuta to recapture the second spot ahead of M-Sport Ford Puma man  Fourmaux. 

Neuville said, "It was a technical issue we couldn't solve. So we lost a lot of time and important points in the fight for the championship. But there is nothing we could have done except continue fighting."

"That's is what we're going to do tomorrow as well to take some extra points and hopefully, go home with good enough points for the championship.  I think we weren't quick enough to solve the problem. We didn't know what the problem was.”

A dejected Neuville added: “We were still motoring but in the end, too much time and important points lost in the fight for the championship.”