Two-time world champions Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen clinched a first victory of the season in the second event of a partial campaign by a dominant 1m37.8s from Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta. M-Sport’s Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux claimed a second career WRC podium in third, 2m25.1s adrift.
Rovanpera was fast and faultless through Kenya’s 19 stages, which are renowned as the toughest on the WRC calendar. The 2022 Kenya winner judged the rough gravel conditions to perfection, ending the rally as the only Rally1 driver to complete the event without suffering any major delays.
The Finn’s victory was set up by a perfect Friday where Rovanpera won all six tests to open up a 56.9s lead. His advantage ballooned to more than two minutes after a chaotic Saturday as each of his rivals battled through accidents, punctures or mechanical issues.
After banking 18 points for his efforts on Saturday, this afforded Rovanpera the ability to cruise through Sunday’s six stages to seal a 12th career WRC victory in one of the driest Safari Rally’s in recent memory. The success was Toyota’s first of the season.
Like Rovanpera, Katsuta adopted a cautious approach knowing the attritional nature of Kenya’s roads. The Japanese driver ended Friday in third overall before his progress was halted by front and rear-right punctures picked up in the extreme Sleeping Warrior stage on Saturday morning.
Source: Autosport