The lead fight at Safari Rally Kenya has been blown wide open after Oliver Solberg suffered a puncture on the second run of the Geothermal stage.
The Swede’s half-minute advantage over his Toyota team-mate Sébastien Ogier was slashed to a single second, with Elfyn Evans’ GR Yaris Rally1 a further 4.7s back.
Arriving at the end of the stage with a right-rear delamination and no bodywork on the Toyota, Solberg said: “I felt something, but I didn’t see anything.
“It was just a slow puncture for six kilometres. I tried to keep it low, tried not to let it delaminate and it only did delaminate 200 metres before the finish – so I almost kept it until the. I tried to drive slow all day.
“I think I’ve got to step up my speed now.”
Second fastest behind Sami Pajari was enough for Ogier to come within touching distance of the lead, having overhauled Evans on the previous stage.
“It’s a nice stage,” said Ogier. “I was really trying to navigate between the stones and stay out of trouble.”
Talking about the battle ahead, the nine-time world champion smiled and added: “Tomorrow is a massive day, but let’s finish today. There can still be some rain coming and we can lose a minute. It’s Safari… anything can happen.”
Pajari moved ahead of Takamoto Katsuta after the Japanese suffered a pair of front punctures on the afternoon’s re-run of Kedong.
With no spares aboard the Yaris, Katsuta was forced to slow his pace in Geothermal, allowing Thierry Neuville to close the gap to just 1.6s between his Hyundai and the #18 Toyota ahead.
Adrien Fourmaux is just 6.5s behind fellow i20 N Rally1 runner Neuville, while Esapekka Lappi is eighth and looking more comfortable following significant suspension and transmission set-up changes at lunchtime service.
M-Sport’s afternoon started badly, with both Pumas suffering punctures. Jon Armstrong continues in ninth place, while Josh McErlean was forced into retirement after damaging the gearbox casing on his car.
