Ott Tänak won Thursday’s opening superspecial stage to lead Safari Rally Kenya by just 0.1s seconds over Sébastien Ogier.
For the third year in succession, the three-mile Super Special Kasarani kicked off proceedings in Kenya, and Ogier started the test with an unbeaten record – winning it in both 2021 and ’22.
Despite a moment where he briefly ran wide on one of the stage’s long, fast corners, Ogier was supreme and looked set to defend that record and move into an early lead when he beat the rest of the field by five seconds.
But then Tänak started the stage.
The M-Sport driver pipped Ogier by a single tenth of a second to lead the rally heading into Friday – a day that will likely cause problems for many of the drivers.
“I’m counting on some Kenya gods to help me, luck will be needed [this weekend],” Ogier said.
“So far this season I have been fast on every rally but missed a bit of fortune on the last two. This one we try to be clever but not everything is in our hands.”
Kalle Rovanperä, the only other Rally1 driver other than Ogier to win the Safari, was third fastest on the opener – 2.4s off the ultimate pace but 0.3s quicker than Thierry Neuville who he was head-to-head with on the stage.
“It’s going to be a new challenge this year, a bit different to last year. More rough,” said the world champion.
“Let’s try and do the same as last year – keep it steady and have a good pace.”
Esappeka Lappi suffered a difficult shakedown where he stopped twice with a propshaft problem, but that all seemed to be behind him as he set the sixth fastest time on the first timed stage – 0.7s down on Elfyn Evans and four seconds off the lead.
Takamoto Katsuta’s Toyota was fully repaired following his roll on Wednesday’s shakedown stage, and he was quick to pay tribute to his team for their efforts.
“Feeling very good and the car is working so well, but I must say a huge thanks to the team that they fixed the car perfectly,” Katsuta said.
“I had a good feeling. I try to enjoy tomorrow and this weekend.”
Katsuta, who is yet to finish off the podium in Kenya, was sixth fastest on SS1 – 0.8s clear of Dani Sordo with Safari debutant Pierre-Louis Loubet another 2.1s back.
Kajetan Kajetanowicz leads WRC2 by just 0.8s over M-Sport’s Grégoire Munster after the opening stage, but Oliver Solberg was quickest in the Rally2 class by an impressive 3.2s.
Solberg isn’t competing for championship points in Kenya, but is ninth overall as he outpaced Jourdan Serderidis’ Rally1 Ford.
