Photo: Twitter/@ItsMiller_G
The 2023 WRC Safari Rally officially kicked off Wednesday morning in Naivasha, Kenya, for its 70th season. Kalle Rovanpera debuted his Safari Rally victory bid with a stunning performance at the warm-up stage before daybreak by the scenic Lake Naivasha.
History seems to be repeating itself at the 2023 WRC Safari Rally Kenya after FIA 2022 WRC Safari Rally winner and current leader by points, Kalle Rovanpera, like last year, bagged an early win in an eventful shakedown stage in Naivasha, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) out of Nairobi City.
During last year's event, the Finn champion set the pace five-tenths of a second ahead of his then closest 2022 title challenger Thierry Neuville who was behind the wheel of a Hyundai i20 N. Rovanpera starts the 2023 WRC Safari Rally 20 points ahead of Neuville.
The Finn champion, who led the Toyota GR Yaris squad to a 1-2-3-4 win last year, blasted through the 5.40 kilometer (3 miles) Loldia shakedown stage ahead of M-Sport Ford, Estonian rival Ott Tanak by 1.5 seconds.
Rovanpera's GR Yaris teammate, Sebastien Ogier (Toyota part-timer), was the quickest after the first run but later slipped into third behind Tanak by seven-tenths of a second and finished 2.2 minutes after the leader. He's had a successful run after setting a new world record, grabbing his ninth win at the Monte Carlo rally in January.
His Monte Carlo performance wasn't by chance. He suffered several setbacks after a clutch issue and loss of the hybrid boost. His teammate's puncture misfortune in stage 5 aided his winning streak at the event.
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai's best-placed driver, trailed Tanak closely by 0.2 seconds, coming in at fourth, while his teammate, Dani Sordo, in an i20 N, sandwiched Toyota crewmates Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta at fifth and sixth, respectively. Evans finished fifth 2.5 seconds behind Rovanpera, while Katsuta completed the warm-up stage 3.6 seconds after the lead.
It wasn't an easy first run for Katsuta after he and his co-driver rolled their GR Yaris late in the stage, coming unstuck on a right-hander just before a jump. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.
Finnish Esapekka Lappi had his own set of challenges in the morning run after his Hyundai propeller shaft failed. It failed again after repairs during the next pass. Jourdan Serderidis completed in the top ten, while Oliver Solberg (WRC2 pacesetter) trailed Pierre-Louis Loubet.
Kenyan President William Ruto officially flagged off the morning shakedown event in Naivasha. He told the local media that the 2023 WRC Safari Rally was exhilarating for the country as the championship crosses into its 70th edition.
Ott Tanak, who completed the shakedown event third, was tight-lipped after the event. "First run of the WRC Safari Rally shakedown is completed. It was shaking indeed," he said in a tweet.
Tomorrow, the drivers and crew will gather at Uhuru Gardens for the lunchtime flag-off at the heart of Nairobi city before participating in a two-at-a-time Super Special event in Kasarani, northeast of Nairobi city.
During last year's event, the Finn champion set the pace five-tenths of a second ahead of his then closest 2022 title challenger Thierry Neuville who was behind the wheel of a Hyundai i20 N. Rovanpera starts the 2023 WRC Safari Rally 20 points ahead of Neuville.
The Finn champion, who led the Toyota GR Yaris squad to a 1-2-3-4 win last year, blasted through the 5.40 kilometer (3 miles) Loldia shakedown stage ahead of M-Sport Ford, Estonian rival Ott Tanak by 1.5 seconds.
Rovanpera's GR Yaris teammate, Sebastien Ogier (Toyota part-timer), was the quickest after the first run but later slipped into third behind Tanak by seven-tenths of a second and finished 2.2 minutes after the leader. He's had a successful run after setting a new world record, grabbing his ninth win at the Monte Carlo rally in January.
His Monte Carlo performance wasn't by chance. He suffered several setbacks after a clutch issue and loss of the hybrid boost. His teammate's puncture misfortune in stage 5 aided his winning streak at the event.
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai's best-placed driver, trailed Tanak closely by 0.2 seconds, coming in at fourth, while his teammate, Dani Sordo, in an i20 N, sandwiched Toyota crewmates Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta at fifth and sixth, respectively. Evans finished fifth 2.5 seconds behind Rovanpera, while Katsuta completed the warm-up stage 3.6 seconds after the lead.
It wasn't an easy first run for Katsuta after he and his co-driver rolled their GR Yaris late in the stage, coming unstuck on a right-hander just before a jump. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.
Finnish Esapekka Lappi had his own set of challenges in the morning run after his Hyundai propeller shaft failed. It failed again after repairs during the next pass. Jourdan Serderidis completed in the top ten, while Oliver Solberg (WRC2 pacesetter) trailed Pierre-Louis Loubet.
Kenyan President William Ruto officially flagged off the morning shakedown event in Naivasha. He told the local media that the 2023 WRC Safari Rally was exhilarating for the country as the championship crosses into its 70th edition.
Ott Tanak, who completed the shakedown event third, was tight-lipped after the event. "First run of the WRC Safari Rally shakedown is completed. It was shaking indeed," he said in a tweet.
Tomorrow, the drivers and crew will gather at Uhuru Gardens for the lunchtime flag-off at the heart of Nairobi city before participating in a two-at-a-time Super Special event in Kasarani, northeast of Nairobi city.
Shakedown ?
— Kalle Rovanperä (@KalleRovanpera) June 21, 2023
Fastest times:
1. Kalle & Jonne 3:32.4
2. Tänak +1.5s
3. Ogier +2.2s
4. Neuville +2.4s
5. Evans +2.5s
6. Katsuta +3.6s
7. Sordo +5.0s
8. Loubet +8.7s#KR69 #ToyotaGAZOORacing #SafariRallyKenya pic.twitter.com/JbT7EAI7Oe
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