Round seven of the 2023 World Rally Championship is done and dusted – and, impressively, survived by the majority of the crews.
Not everybody though, of course.
After a Safari Rally Kenya that provided plenty of intrigue throughout but arguably even more afterwards, Colin Clark has once again delivered his driver ratings for the factory Rally1 field.
Here are his scores and explanations:
Toyota
Sébastien Ogier 10/10
Safari Rally Kenya result: 1st
This result well and truly puts the bitter disappointment of Sardinia firmly behind Sébastien Ogier.
It was the consummate display of preparation, planning and, ultimately, performance.
Ogier is still very much at the top of his game and approaches every event with the ruthless and determined focus that has been the hallmark of his career. Anyone who thinks he’s just turning up at these events for fun is very much mistaken.
Ott Tänak won the first stage but from then on in it was Ogier all the way and he never really looked like being anything other than the winner here.
His rally management and craft were at their very finest – running a puncture mitigation strategy that he ruthlessly stuck to.
Superb performance once again from the driver who is, very probably, still the best of the lot.
Kalle Rovanperä 9/10
Safari Rally Kenya result: 2nd
Strong week again from Kalle Rovanperä who now increasingly looks like the man to beat in this year’s championship.
Much like Ogier, Rovanperä had a well defined strategy here that played out well for him. Of all our Rally1 drivers, Rovanperä had the tidiest of rallies with enough pace to keep him well clear of the chasing pack.
Was he prepared to risk an increasingly strong position in the championship to chase down Ogier?
Absolutely not – and that is a sign of the increasing maturity of Rovanperä’s approach.
Quite clearly he is still learning, still getting better and still getting faster.
If Ogier is the master, Rovanperä is the knowledge hungry apprentice.
It’s frightening to think that he’s still in the learning phase and will only continue to get better.
Elfyn Evans 7/10
Safari Rally Kenya result: 3rd
Elfyn Evans was a little messy at times in Kenya, but a determined and dogged performance delivered a deserved podium.
Admitted at the conclusion of the event that he wasn’t happy with his pace and clearly he’s still not quite yet firing on all cylinders.
He’s building some momentum though that should allow him to kick on in Estonia and Finland.
They are two events however that require maximum confidence and does Elfyn leave here with that?
We’ll find out soon enough.
Takamoto Katsuta 6/10
Safari Rally Kenya result: 4th
Where do we start with this one?
Takamoto Katsuta loves this event and was very much targeting a third consecutive podium on the Safari.
From the third run on shakedown onwards however, that was always going to be a big ask.
I’ve rarely seen a driver abuse his car as much as Takamoto did here in Kenya, but you know what, there’s a big positive to be taken from what was the scruffiest of weekends.
Yes he battered every panel, went through three rear wings and gave his engineers and mechanics countless headaches, but encouragingly he had the confidence to push his GR Yaris Rally1 to the limit – and very often beyond the limit.
And you know what? That’s a fairly big step forward for Katsuta.
Hyundai
Thierry Neuville 0/10
Safari Rally Kenya result: DSQ
I’m absolutely shocked at the stupidity of Thierry Neuville’s actions here in Kenya.
Illegal recceing is, and always has been, one of the most serious offences in rallying. So much so that we’ve seen drivers banned for fairly lengthly periods in the past for cheating in this way.
It’s beyond belief that a team of Hyundai’s experience should allow this to happen.
What was already a very difficult weekend for the team has, overnight, become catastrophic.
There are still many unanswered questions around this incident that may or may not mitigate Neuville’s actions.
I for one though just feel enormous disappointment that one of our biggest stars should be caught doing something he so obviously shouldn’t have been doing.
Esapekka Lappi 8/10
Safari Rally Kenya result: 12th
You just can’t believe that one driver could suffer so much bad luck over the course of a rally.
Actually, I don’t believe it was bad luck, but surely that’s another story that we’ll hear more about in due course.
Esapekka Lappi is driving as well as he has ever driven with perhaps more confidence in his right to be fighting with the big boys than he has ever had.
His consistent pace and performance has been enormously impressive and surely he’s making a strong case for a change in the “Neuville or bust” strategy adopted by the team. OK, maybe not this year, but most definitely for next.
Dani Sordo 6/10
Safari Rally Kenya result: 5th
Best of the rest behind the totally dominant Toyotas, Dani Sordo is another driver who never really wavered from a firmly set strategy for this one.
He knows what his job is and once again he delivered for the team.
Sordo’s pace might be a little concerning but his ability to execute a plan and deliver what is asked of him is undoubted – and that makes him a very valuable asset indeed.
M-Sport Ford
Ott Tänak 5/10
Safari Rally Kenya result: 6th
Other than the opening stage win, there really weren’t too many bright spots in Kenya for Tänak.
Scuppered by too many punctures and a few niggling issues that meant he really had no way of fighting for top honors here.
I know you can only work with what you have, but that M-Sport Puma is a proven winner and I’m not convinced that Tänak is managing to get the best out of it.
Yes, the car hasn’t been developed in a way that perhaps suits Tänak’s style, but maybe we need to see some degree of compromise here, and maybe even an adaption of driving style from the Estonian.
I know that’s far from easy, but it’s also far from impossible and could well be the way to reigniting Tanak’s fading championship hopes.
Pierre-Louis Loubet 4/10
Safari Rally Kenya result: 7th
OK, so he finished 16 minutes behind Ogier, but there were positives here in Pierre-Louis Loubet’s performance.
Silly little mistakes had once again begun to creep into Loubet’s outings and it was imperative that he started the process back to clean drives before he could even consider more pace. And that’s exactly what this was.
His first appearance at the Safari, a clean run and a seventh place finish is, for me, a positive for young Loubet.
