Sébastien Ogier has charged back into contention for a third Safari Rally victory with a stellar run through Friday morning aboard his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
The Frenchman was hit by worsening rain on Thursday’s opening stage and started the first full day of competition just over a minute down on overnight leader Oliver Solberg and 31 seconds off second-placed Elfyn Evans.
Despite not competing on Africa’s WRC counter for the last two years, Ogier flew through a morning loop shortened by the loss of the re-run Camp Moran test; the stage cancelled after heavy rain further complicated conditions.
Despite picking up a front-right puncture towards the end of SS6, Ogier slashed the gap to the Toyotas ahead, heading back to service 9.4s behind Evans and 38.2 off the lead.
“That’s not a fun stage,” said Ogier, after dropping seven seconds to Sami Pajari’s fastest time in the loop-closing Kedong test. “It’s a bit stupid, just straight with no corners at all, couple of junctions and full of stones. I tried to be careful, but it’s pure lottery here. We will see which conditions we have [this afternoon], but it looks like the rain coming again.”
Ogier’s pace caught the attention of leader Solberg. The Swede nudged a tree after out-braking himself in Lolida, but generally felt he’d been too cautious.
“There’s been a lot of cleaning,” he said. “And it’s a complete lottery with the rocks. I’m trying to keep it clean and keep it where [Elfyn] Evans is. I’ve had a decent run, with some small mistakes. Ogier is quicker, but he needs to push – we need to be clean.”
Evans’ ability to slow his GR Yaris Rally1 was hindered by a brake problem on the day’s opener, but otherwise the championship leader enjoyed a clean morning.
“It’s just about how brave you want to be on the stuff that can break the car,” he admitted ruefully at the end of the loop.
Takamoto Katsuta and Pajari maintained Toyota’s grip on the top five positions at Friday lunchtime; Pajari’s pace particularly merit-worthy with stage wins in SS5 and SS6.
Hyundai men Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux remained locked in a scrap for sixth, with the Belgian’s i20 N Rally1 4.3s ahead of his French team-mate. Jon Armstrong continues to head M-Sport’s challenge in eighth after his 11th-placed team-mate Josh McErlean suffered further overheating issues on what’s been a torrid start for the Irishman.
Esapekka Lappi was struggling to get his i20 turned in with significant oversteer in the car. The Finn sits ninth, just ahead of WRC2 leader Gus Greensmith.
