Having already tasted the rigours of Naivasha "Fesh Fesh" twice in a Hyundai i20, 2019 World Rally champion Otto Tanak return to the iconic WRC Safari Rally Kenya more reloaded than ever before.
The Estonian has tackled two Safaris in the i20 Rally1 marque, finishing third behind winner Sebastien Ogier and Takamoto Katsuta in 2021 and retiring with power steering gremlins in 2022.
But experts remain uncertain whether or not the former champion is the right man to lead M-Sport Ford to its first WRC Safari Rally glory in the Rally 1 hybrid era.
Tanak had to contend with playing second fiddle after a frustrating 2021 campaign which saw him rack up more stage wins than any of his race adversaries, only for victory to slip away due to reliability issues.
Former Kenyan 2WD champion Dennis Mwenda aka 'Dere Mwenda' believes the desire for Tanak to prove Puma's potential on the planet’s toughest gravel ( Kenya) could be tricky.
"So far, the Puma has been unreliable in the few rallies that Tanak has raced in. Last year, as well, Ford had issues with Safari. So it will be tricky in my opinion-hard to call," Mwenda noted.
Tanak has yet to lay his hands on the coveted Safari title but on a good day, the Estonian could possess the pedigree to propel M-Sport Ford to new heights.
The former champion inked a deal at the start of the season which reunited him with M-Sport Ford, the team that helped to launch his World Rally career.
It was at M-Sport that the 35-year-old earned a first top-flight podium finish and a maiden victory.
Tanak knows M-Sport inside out and will be returning to Safari to chase two facets of his 2023 goals—to chalk up an outright victory in Kenya and indeed score the all-important championship points at stake on Safari.
The Estonian speedster has one win so far achieved in 2023 at the championship's all-snow fixture in Sweden.
Tanak finished second in Croatia, ninth in Mexico, and fifth in the season-opening Rallye Monte Carlo in France. He currently sits fourth on the 2023 WRC log behind the Toyota Gazoo Racing trio of Ogier Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanpera.
This year's WRC Safari Rally is proudly sponsored by KCB Bank Kenya and the Government of Kenya .
