Eflyn Evans during the Soysambu SS8. photo by WRC Safari Rally
The morning section was eventful as Elfyn Evans has plummeted from second to fifth overall at Safari Rally Kenya after he was forced to stop and change a wheel during Saturday’s opening stage at Soysambu.
The Welshman, who had trailed his rally-leading Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanperä by almost one minute overnight, pulled over 12.7km into the 29.32km stage to swap the rear-left wheel on his GR Yaris Rally1.
In doing so he leaked almost two minutes, slipping to fifth while his closest championship rival Thierry Neuville – who topped the points standings coming into this rally – climbed to third in his Hyundai i20 N. Toyota man Takamoto Katsuta inherited second overall while Rovanperä remained in the lead with a 55.6s buffer.
“We got an alarm, but didn’t really feel anything in the first instance,” Evans revealed. “Sure enough it was [a puncture] and it was too far to try and drive it out.”
Ott Tänak, during the WRC Safari Rally at the Soysambu (SS8). Photo by WRC Safari Rally
Also in trouble was Ott Tänak, who rejoined the action after retiring on Friday with suspension damage. He forgot to re-secure a bonnet pin after working on his Hyundai i20 N before the stage and stopped for around one minute. Grégoire Munster limped through more than five minutes off the pace with broken rear suspension.
“We had a very busy road section with lots of work and the bonnet pin was our mistake,” explained Tänak. “We didn’t realise it hadn’t clicked in correctly so we had to sort it out.”
Huyndai’s Thierry Neuville . Photo by WRC Safari Rally
Meanwhile, Neuville will be looking to take advantage of Evans’ stop in this stage as the Belgian attempts to climb into the podium places. “Was a good stage. I tried to keep it in the middle of the road and enjoy the drive. I got the message [about Evans’ puncture] when we passed the finish line. The day is long, so we keep going and then we’ll see.”
material sourced from www.wrc.com
