The 2024 World Rally Championship season continues next weekend with the third round of the season, Safari Rally Kenya.
Championship Rundown
Oliver Solberg and Yohan Rossel are tied for the WRC2 championship lead heading into round three. Both Solberg and Rossel have only contested one point scoring round, with Rossel using his first in Monte-Carlo while Solberg used his in Sweden. Solberg will use a second point-scoring round this weekend and is expected to take the championship lead. Sami Pajari and Pepe López are tied for third in the championship. With both drivers sitting 7 points behind Rossel and Solberg. Fifth in the championship follows the same trend as first and third, as once again there is a tie for the position. With Nikolay Grayzin and Georg Linnamäe sitting 3 points behind López and Pajari. Pajari, López, Gryazin and Linnamäe are not contesting the Safari Rally this weekend.
First Of The Season
Gus Greensmith and Kajetan Kajetanowicz will both be making their season debuts this weekend. Kajetanowicz is the reigning class winner at the Safari Rally. On the other hand, Greensmith hasn’t contested the event in a WRC2 car. As Greensmith only contested the legendary event behind the wheel of a Puma Rally1 back in 2022. Both drivers are expected to battle Oliver Solberg for the event win. This weekend has a chance for Solberg, Greensmith and Kajetnowicz to cash in some quality championship points early. As there isn’t much competition in the WRC2 class this weekend. That won’t make it any easier for the drivers, however. As what the event lacks in driver competition it makes up for in the difficulty of the stages. To secure top points this weekend the drivers will have to fend off the unforgiving Kenyan wilderness.
Welcome To The WRC
Alongside returning drivers making their season debut there will be a fresh face in the mix with a familiar name. As Grégoire Munster’s younger brother Charles will be making his WRC2 debut this weekend. Munster has contested many events in France, Belgium and surrounding areas in the last few years. He has yet to claim an overall win at any event, however he has taken a few class wins at events. Nevertheless, the Safari Rally will be different than anything else Charles has contested before. It will be a tough event for the youngster.
What To Expect
The Safari Rally is known for being unforgiving. As weather conditions and as a result road conditions are ever-changing. Drivers will contest 19 stages over the four-day event. The event will kick off with one SuperSpecial stage on Thursday, which totals to 4.84 km. The second day is where the action really begins. As drivers will contest 125.82 km across 6 stages. Day three will see 150.88 km of stages across another 6 stages. To cap off the third event of the season drivers will contest 74.38 km across 6 stages on the fourth day.