WRC: Evans Secures Victory at the Challenging Safari Rally Kenya

If our Rally Acropolis is considered tough with its sharp rocks, how should we describe the Safari Rally in Kenya, which features rocks, dust, and numerous jumps? On the third day of the third rally of the year in Kenya, Elfyn Evans led by 7.7 seconds over his Toyota teammate Kalle Rovanperä. However, by the end of the day, Evans held a commanding lead of 1 minute and 57.4 seconds over Tänak, amid incredible twists and turns. Despite several setbacks, Evans emerged nearly unscathed, suffering only minor rear tire damage. Meanwhile, Rovanperä faced multiple misfortunes, blowing his front-right tire during a special stage costing him 21.1 seconds, followed by another puncture on his front-left tire, losing an additional 55.5 seconds. By midday, he was 1 minute and 32.5 seconds behind Evans. In the afternoon, worsening conditions due to rain saw Rovanperä suffer further damage to his rear suspension arm, forcing him to make temporary repairs with duct tape and dropping him to fifth place, about six minutes behind leader Evans. Second-placed Ott Tänak battled visibility issues when his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 windshield wipers malfunctioned, placing him nearly two minutes behind Evans. Third-placed Thierry Neuville, also driving a Hyundai, trails by over two and a half minutes. The final standings include Katsuta in fourth with a Toyota Yaris, Sven Pajari in sixth, and seventh-place Gregoire Munster driving a Ford Puma, who lags 11 minutes behind Evans. Incredible differences mark this challenging rally with unexpected events. Tomorrow, Sunday, the rally concludes with five special stages covering nearly 66 kilometers, but significant changes to the overall standings seem unlikely.