Oliver Solberg quickly took the lead in the Safari Rally Kenya, leaving his Toyota World Rally Championship teammate Elfyn Evans behind after challenging weather conditions. Despite the wild weather wreaking havoc, Monte Carlo winner Solberg managed to build a significant 33.3s lead over Evans by the first service, while Sebastian Ogier, the reigning world champion and two-time Safari winner, trailed behind by 1m05.1s after just two stages.
The tough opening stage at Camp Moran, which was hit by heavy rain, added to the already muddy conditions and made survival the top priority for the drivers. Solberg capitalized on his start position, settling into second on the road and setting a blazing time that was 30s faster than the road-opener Evans. Visibility was a major issue for Evans, as his windscreen became misted up during the challenging conditions.
While both drivers faced visibility problems, Solberg managed to maintain a lead of 30 seconds over Evans and a minute over Ogier, surprising even himself with his performance. The tough conditions required drivers to rely more on reading the road than following pacenotes, with Solberg even using the water splashes to clear his windscreen.
The weather conditions deteriorated for the other crews, with almost four minutes separating the Rally1 crews and Ogier being the best of the rest, albeit 1m09.3s off Solberg’s pace. Toyota secured the top five positions, with Takamoto Katsuta in fourth, followed by Sami Pajari and Thierry Neuville, the top Hyundai driver, who was 3.1s slower than Pajari.
Ogier managed to claim a stage win in the drier conditions of stage two, with Solberg coming in fourth but extending his rally lead. The stage highlighted the toughness of Kenya’s roads, as four Rally1 crews, including all three Hyundai cars, encountered high temperature alerts due to the challenging terrain and conditions.
Despite the tough start, Neuville managed to hold onto sixth place, while teammate Adrien Fourmaux slipped to eighth overall. Crews will face eight more stages on Friday in their quest for victory at the Safari Rally Kenya.
