Evans leads Safari Rally Kenya by nearly two minutes as Rovanperä hits trouble with Hyundai’s Tänak and Neuville closing in.
Elfyn Evans has put in a commanding performance on the penultimate day of Safari Rally Kenya, steering clear of major drama to lead the rally by nearly two minutes as title rival and Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanperä fell down the order following suspension damage.
Evans and Rovanperä had started Saturday locked in a close battle at the top of the leaderboard, but the Welshman began to pull away as the morning unfolded.
Rovanperä suffered two punctures during the tough morning loop, allowing Evans to open up a gap of over 1 minute and 30 seconds.
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Any hopes the reigning world champion had of mounting a fightback were dashed on the opening test of the afternoon. Wet and muddy conditions saw Rovanperä slide into a rock, damaging the rear-left corner of his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
While he was able to continue thanks to a makeshift repair job, his pace was heavily compromised due to the fragility of the car’s rear end.
Rovanperä slipped from second to fifth, ending the day 6 minutes and 6 seconds adrift of the lead. That left Hyundai’s Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville to pick up the pieces, completing the overnight top three behind Evans, with Takamoto Katsuta now running in fourth.
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Harambee Stars scored a last-minute goal to secure a thrilling 3-3 draw with The Gambia and after the stalemate, they have it all to do to claim a first-ever World Cup ticket.
Despite the chaos around him, Evans kept his cool throughout the grueling afternoon. He did suffer a spin on the second stage of the loop, and lost 53 seconds to Tänak on SS16, but otherwise maintained a solid rhythm and managed the treacherous conditions with precision.
The weather played a major role in shaking up the order. All three afternoon stages were heavily affected by mud, with the Soysambu stage proving especially difficult. Drivers struggled to keep their cars pointing straight in the slick and sticky surface.
Takamoto Katsuta was among the biggest victims of the afternoon. After a flying start with a dominant stage win that had him eyeing Tänak’s second place, a puncture on the following test halted his charge.
Another puncture on SS16 – which he opted to stop and change – cost him more time and allowed Neuville to edge ahead by 33.2 seconds. Neuville himself wasn’t without problems, complaining of reduced power from his Hyundai in the final stage.
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Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy still has hopes of clinching a World Cup place despite a draw away to the Gambia as he looks to freshen up the team for Gabon on Sunday.
Tänak, meanwhile, had a clean run and capitalized on the misfortunes around him. He topped the final stage of the day and now sits 2 minutes and 36 seconds ahead of Neuville, solidly in second place overnight.
In WRC2, the battle remains intense. Gus Greensmith snatched the class lead from Jan Solans on the final stage of the day and heads into Sunday with a slender 5.8-second advantage.
The pair sit eighth and ninth overall, behind Rally1 runners Sami Pajari and Grégoire Munster.
