Photo credit: www.motorsport.com

Kalle Rovanpera Faces Challenges in Safari Rally

Kalle Rovanpera’s aspirations for victory in the Safari Rally have been compromised due to two significant punctures, with the latter incident occurring while he attempted to dodge a herd of zebras on the course.

The reigning two-time world champion entered Saturday trailing his Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans by 7.7 seconds. However, after navigating a demanding morning loop marked by slick, muddy terrain, Rovanpera found himself 1m32.5s behind by the end of the stage.

The first puncture happened late in stage 12, causing Rovanpera to lose 37 seconds. Subsequently, during the final stage of the loop, he encountered another setback as he swerved off the road to avoid Zebras.

“This morning was tough. We faced two punctures; the first one was unexpected, and I’m not sure how it happened,” Rovanpera explained. “On the last stage, we maintained a good pace, but when we encountered a large group of zebras on the road at high speed, I had no choice but to veer off track. Unfortunately, that led to hitting some rocks and another puncture, severely impacting our time.”

“Let’s keep our fingers crossed for better luck moving forward, and hopefully, we can make up some lost time,” he added.

Rovanpera’s misfortunes inadvertently relieved some of the pressure on leader Elfyn Evans. Evans faced his own difficulties, experiencing a puncture at the end of stage 13 and needing to slow down on three occasions to avoid zebra crossings.

When questioned about the status of his lead, Evans remarked, “This gap isn’t secure in these conditions. It’s crucial to stay focused and see how the day unfolds. There’s no room for complacency.”

Thierry Neuville Struggles Amid Illness and Set-Up Issues

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The challenging conditions of wet and muddy sections have hindered Hyundai’s competitiveness in the Safari Rally, with the team’s prospects for victory dwindling.

Thierry Neuville, the world champion, disclosed that he had been feeling unwell, likely a result of spending excessive time working on the car in sweltering temperatures on Friday.

Neuville also incurred a puncture during stage 11, which necessitated a rapid wheel change lasting 1m25s. By the end of the loop, he had slipped to fifth, trailing Takamoto Katsuta in fourth place by 1m29.4s.

“I would estimate I’m functioning at about 15% or 20%. I believe we overextended ourselves while working on the car in the heat yesterday. I felt really unwell last night, struggled to sleep, and have been dealing with stomach issues,” Neuville shared.

“It was incredibly tough out there. I tried my best, but I had difficulty controlling the car in the rough sections. The muddy terrain made it impossible to maintain control, and I felt more like a passenger at times.”

Ott Tanak experienced similar misfortunes, with a puncture in stage 11 contributing to his difficulties. As a result, he ended the loop in third place, 1m49.5s off the lead.

“Our position is largely due to the puncture. Based purely on performance, we were significantly off compared to the Toyotas, which are excelling in these tricky conditions,” Tanak commented.

In light of the reliability issues that surfaced on Friday, Hyundai made the decision to hold back Adrien Fourmaux from Saturday’s stages after his retirement the previous day. “Given there was little to gain today, we chose not to restart Adrien and Alex to ensure the car is prepared for a strong comeback on Super Sunday,” the team stated.

Meanwhile, M-Sport Ford faced a tumultuous morning with both Josh McErlean and Gregoire Munster encountering difficulties. McErlean had to halt twice during the notorious Sleeping Warrior stage, with significant repairs on a broken steering arm costing him nearly half an hour and pushing him from seventh to 15th place. Munster also knocked a tire off the rim before suffering additional punctures, ultimately finishing the loop in ninth overall.

In the WRC2 category, the lead changed hands multiple times, with overnight leader Kajetan Kajetanowicz experiencing setbacks in the Sleeping Warrior stage. This allowed Gus Greensmith to seize the lead, only for Jan Solans to take it from him after the latter suffered a puncture in stage 12. Solans is currently in seventh place overall, leading WRC2 by 12 seconds.

Photos Rally Kenya Day 3

In this article

Tom Howard

WRC

Elfyn Evans

Kalle Rovanperä

Toyota Racing

Source
www.motorsport.com