Toyota Gazoo Racing prepare to defend unbeaten record on Safari Rally Kenya
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team will seek to defend their unbeaten record on the Safari Rally Kenya this week (20-23 March).
This will be the team’s 100th event in the FIA World Rally Championship since their debut in the competition in 2017. This year they have made a perfect start to their defence of their manufacturers’ championship title, scoring a one-two finish and maximum points from each of the first two rallies, in Monte Carlo and Sweden. This is the best start to a WRC season by a manufacturer in the modern era.
Elfyn Evans is leading the drivers’ standings following victory on the snow of Sweden. He was involved in a duel to the finish with team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, for whom Kenya has been a happy hunting ground with three previous podium finishes. Kalle Rovanperä, currently the closest full-season challenger to Evans in the points, also has a strong record on the Safari with wins in 2022 and 2024. Sami Pajari, on the other hand, will be taking on the event for the first time in his TGR-WRT2 entry.
TGR-WRT themselves have a proud history on the Safari, winning all four editions held since the event returned to the calendar in 2021. This year’s running marks 40 years since Juha Kankkunen scored his first WRC win on the Safari driving the Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo; this will be the four-time world champion’s first time leading the team on the ground in his new role as Deputy Team Principal.
The Safari Rally presents a unique challenge, with some sections that are extremely rough and rocky, while others over soft sand can be just as hard to negotiate. Rain can turn the usually dry and dusty tracks into mud. Teams are permitted to fit snorkel systems to help cars navigate deep water or soft sand and prevent engines being starved of air.
The route has been expanded this year to make this the longest WRC round for many years, at almost 250 competitive miles. The rally begins from the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Thursday lunchtime, with the nearby Kasarani super special serving as the first stage. This will be followed by a new stage, Mzabibu, close to the service park in Naivasha. Another new stage, Camp Moran – the longest of the rally at 20 miles – begins a loop of four stages run twice on Friday, while Saturday takes crews north to Lake Elmenteita for a trio of repeated tests. Mzabibu is revisited as the first of five stages on Sunday, and Hell’s Gate hosts the rally-ending Power Stage.
The GR Yaris Rally2 will compete on African soil for the first time, with four customer entries among the leading six crews on the WRC2 entry list. Oliver Solberg of Printsport is the joint championship leader following a home win in Sweden. He is joined by the Teo Martín Motorsport duo of Spain’s Jan Solans and Paraguay’s Diego Domínguez, and Poland’s Kajetan Kajetanowicz, the three-time European champion who is making his GR Yaris Rally2 debut with the Rallylab Technology team.
Team quotes
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal): “The Safari Rally is always a special event for our team, and this year’s edition has extra significance as our 100th WRC rally since we started in 2017. Of course, we hope we can mark this milestone with another great result, but we know that this rally is never predictable. The route is even longer now, and at this time of year there’s a strong chance of rain, which can make the stages extremely slippery. This will also be the first gravel rally with this year’s revised technical rules and the new Hankook tyres, so there will be some adapting for everyone to do, especially as it’s not possible to test outside of Europe. Elfyn, Kalle and Takamoto have all been strong in Kenya before, while Sami’s first Safari will be all about learning. They can all count on the knowledge of Juha Kankkunen, who will be taking over my duties on the ground for the first time. With his experience on this event, I know that the team is in very good hands and I will be following our progress closely.”
Elfyn Evans (driver car 33): “It’s been a good start to the year for us and we can be happy with how well the first two events have gone. But now the focus moves to gravel, where the learning starts again with another new tyre. While not representative of the roads in Kenya, our test last week was good familiarisation with this year’s specification of car on gravel and with the tyres. The Safari is a unique rally with a special set of conditions to face: it’s not easy even if it’s dry, but when you add the likelihood of rain and standing water, it can be a huge challenge just to get to the end. This has been an amazing rally for the team over recent years and while it’s not perhaps been my strongest event personally, we want to aim as high as possible and challenge for the win if it’s possible.”
Kalle Rovanperä (driver car 69): “It has not been the easiest start to our season, but we’re not too far from the fight and now we move onto gravel, it’s a new chance to push harder and try to get back to where we want to be. The team have been really strong so far, and we just need to put all the pieces together on our end so that we can be on the same pace. The test last week was important to try some different things and find a good feeling with the car and tyres on gravel. It’s a hard rally to predict but we’ll try to push really hard and do our best.”
Takamoto Katsuta (driver car 18): “Sweden was a nice rally for me, where I was able to show speed and finish with a strong result, and this gives me a good feeling for Kenya. The Safari is a special rally for me, and the team have been very strong there every year. They always prepare the car well and reliability has been our key strength. This year could be more challenging with the greater distance and new stages, so we need to prepare the pacenotes well during recce. We also have to find the best way to drive with this year’s car and tyres, but the feeling was quite good in our test. We always have a lot of support in Kenya and I will try of course to finish on the podium again, but anything can happen there and we need to prepare and manage it well.”
Sami Pajari (driver car 5): “The season has started with some very specific rallies, so it’s not been easy, but so far we have recorded some good stage times and had many positive moments, and hopefully it can continue like this in Kenya. I was there for the recce last year so I know a little bit what the roads are like, but it’s still going to be a huge challenge. The team have performed well there over the past few years, so I can expect the car to be strong, but I’m focused on my own performance as well. The target is just to gain as much experience as we can, but we’re also there to do our best and in a rally like this, anything can happen. It will be tough but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
ENDS
