Thierry Neuville was the fastest on Safari Rally Kenya’s all-new shakedown stage – an event most World Rally Championship drivers predict will be brutal.
Heavy rain on the lead up to the 2026 Safari has added a new dimension to this year’s edition, which acts as the third round of the WRC.
Elfyn Evans leads the championship by 13 points over Toyota team-mate Oliver Solberg, but doesn’t expect road position to hold him back this weekend. He shared the joint-fastest time on the first pass of shakedown with Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux.
“It’s looking like it’s going to be a tough weekend, very extreme conditions,” Evans said. “We’ve seen a bit of everything on recce and it should be the same on the rally as well.”
Neuville would ultimately end up quickest however by 1.8s over Solberg. Sami Pajari was another 0.4s back with Evans slotting into fourth.
“I don’t think anyone can predict the final result here this weekend,” said shakedown winner Neuville.
“It’s going to be a good adventure and I’m really looking forward. We need to find the fine line between going fast but not too fast.”
Neuville was one of three Rally1 drivers to have three representative runs on the stage (along with team-mate Esapekka Lappi and Takamoto Katsuta); Solberg’s Toyota was fastest after the second pass.
Sébastien Ogier, meanwhile, ended up fifth, faster only than Katsuta within the Toyota stable: “It looks more challenging than ever,” said the reigning champion. “The rain has been intense so some sections going to be about survival. I think the main target for everybody is stay out of trouble and see what happens.”
Lappi was sixth fastest on shakedown, foreseeing a “very wild” rally ahead: “I believe it’s the same lottery as if you buy a ticket and wish for the best,” he smiled.
Josh McErlean took the M-Sport bragging rights by 0.7s over team-mate Jon Armstrong, with Katsuta’s Toyota sandwiched between the seventh and ninth-placed Pumas.
McErlean tackled the Safari last year while Armstrong will start it for the first time later today.
“The recce was something I’ve never seen before with the big swamps – I think Shrek might be angry we’re driving through his swamp!” Armstrong said. “It’s just brilliant to be here so let’s see if we make it through.”
Fourmaux ended up as the slowest Rally1 car, 5.5s down on Neuville after failing to improve on his time from the first pass.
Andreas Mikkelsen set the pace on his WRC2 return for Škoda, 0.6s up on Romet Jürgenson’s M-Sport Ford.
