Of the rallies he’s started more than once, Safari Rally Kenya stands as Thierry Neuville’s least successful event in the World Rally Championship.
That’s quite the statistic.
A disgruntled eighth place in Latvia – where the then championship leader complained about the handicap of opening the road – is even weaker, but given Neuville has tackled the Safari four times (not just once like Latvia) it’s astonishing he’s never broken the top-four, let alone the podium.
A pair of fifth places in 2022 and 2024 are the best he has managed in Africa.
A mechanical failure in 2021 and exclusion from what had been eighth place (for illegal recceing) two years later are the world champion’s other results.
But Neuville has been stronger on the Safari than the raw numbers make him look. Particularly on the WRC’s return there in 2021 – Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe led by almost a minute until their i20 Coupe WRC’s suspension collapsed on the final morning; something of a theme that season for Hyundai.
Arguably, the Kenyan gods owe the Belgian better fortune this time around.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he smiled to DirtFish, “but every time something slowed us down.
“I mean, we know how to go fast there. We know what needs to be the approach. Now we need to have a bit the lucky hand as well.”
Neuville starts the third round of his title defense fourth in the world championship; a difficult Monte Carlo recovered by a stronger run to third place in Sweden.
Neuville's title defense picked up with a podium in Sweden
He’s “looking forward” to getting stuck into the gravel, confident Hyundai has solved its reliability dramas from recent editions of the event.
It is yet to beat Toyota to a Safari Rally Kenya victory since the rally’s return to the championship.
“I mean, Kenya overall, in terms of speed, we have been good,” Neuville surmised.
“In terms of reliability, I mean we had some issues over there, which are solved obviously with the propshaft.
“But still… yeah, for me it didn’t work well over the last years, electronic issues, fuel-pump issues. Hopefully, those are solved and I can have a clean run.”
