Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta took the lead at the Kenya Safari Rally after Oliver Solberg and Sebastien Ogier were forced to stop on the road’s resumption of service.
Solberg made it through a tricky morning stage with a 42.6-second advantage over Ogier, but his Toyota teammates were stalled on the way back to the midday session. Both riders had damaged alternators, possibly due to the roughness of the stage.
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It’s been a tough morning for Toyota, with Elfyn Evans forced to withdraw from a WRC race for the first time since the 2024 Olympics in Greece with right rear suspension damage.
As a result, Katsuda was third at the end of the lap, 1 minute 33.6 seconds behind Solberg and now 1 minute 07.5 seconds ahead of Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. Katsuda is now in a good position to claim his first WRC victory.
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Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux has moved up to third, 0.7 seconds behind Neuville, with teammate Esapekka Lappi in fourth.
“The last stage was very muddy and bumpy and mud got into the side of the engine and damaged their alternator [Solberg and Ogier]”, said Juha Kankkunen, Toyota team vice-captain.
Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
“Oliver also had a little transmission problem, and Elfin, we already knew what happened to him, so it wasn’t the best morning. Taka was still ahead, but in this case we were OK, but that’s Safari. That can happen.
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“I mean, I’ve been to Kenya a lot of times, so I’m not surprised when something like this happens. The conditions are very tough there, so to speak, and the car should be built for that. But in those muddy conditions, it can go anywhere.
“The water wasn’t that bad, but there was hard mud stuck everywhere, which could cause problems. It got into the alternator and damaged the pulleys, so to speak, and everything got stuck.”
This afternoon, crews will repeat stages to complete Saturday’s race.
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