The third day of Safari Rally Kenya 2025 has come to an end. Elfyn Evans retains the lead after yet another chaotic day.
Morning Loop (Stages 11-13)
Elfyn Evans extended his lead during the morning loop. The Welshman holds a lead of over a minute and a half over Kalle Rovanperä after the first three stages of the day. Evans took three stage wins during the loop, while Takamoto Katsuta had one. Rovanperä suffered two punctures during the loop which is why he lost so much time to Evans. Neuville had engine issues yet again. Tänak also had some technical issues during the loop.
Afternoon Loop (Stages 14-16)
Elfyn Evans continued to extend his lead in the afternoon loop. Evans heads into the final day of Safari Rally Kenya 2025 with a lead just under 2 minutes over Ott Tänak. Katstua, Munster and Tänak each won a stage. Kalle Rovanperä lost a ton of time after having an issue with his left rear suspension all afternoon. Katsuta had two punctures, one on SS15 and another on SS16 which saw him drop down the time card. Evans lost 53 seconds to Tänak in SS16 due to mud on his windshield.
Quotes
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal)
“It has been an incredible day with so much changing all the time. I think it’s the first time in recent years on the Safari that the weather has been quite so difficult. Also, in the area of today’s stages, the stones are really sharp and even though the car is strong, they can easily damage the tyres and things on the car. Elfyn has been driving very well to get through without any major issues, but we are all aware that this rally is not over until you reach the finish. Takamoto has been unlucky with some punctures and Kalle broke something in the suspension, but he did very well to bring the car back. Sami has also been doing a good job in such difficult conditions on his first time here.”
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It’s been remarkably difficult out there today. This has definitely been a proper Safari. Even this morning the conditions were really quite tricky after a lot of rain overnight. Then the rain came again immediately as we started the afternoon loop. The conditions were horribly inconsistent, and I was trying to treat everything with care but it’s easy to drop a lot of time. I couldn’t see much at all at the end with so much mud, but I’m happy we managed to get through it. Even with this gap, nothing is guaranteed on this rally. Tomorrow will be demanding and rough and anything can still happen, so we need to stay focused.”
Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“Today was not an easy day for us. It started well this morning but then we had some bad luck with some punctures, and the afternoon was even worse; in Sleeping Warrior we hit a big loose stone in a muddy section and it broke something in the suspension. We tried to make a small fix before each stage, and although it didn’t last we could at least get through the stages and get back to service. It’s still a long day ahead tomorrow with some tricky stages and a lot of points available, and we’ll do the best we can.”
Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“It has been a really frustrating day. The last two days have been tough for me with sickness, but the team has been supporting me well and I’ve been able to keep driving. The pace was there and I was enjoying the driving and doing some good times. It was really disappointing to lose time with the punctures, but there are still five more stages to go. Just over 30 seconds to the podium is not so much on a rally like this, so we will keep pushing and see what happens.”
Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“Today was extremely tricky with a lot of learning. Already this morning we faced some very different challenges to yesterday, with a lot of wet and muddy places and it was tricky for me to predict the grip, or to know exactly what speed you can carry and what line to take. This afternoon the conditions were even tougher, but the pace was better which was nice to see. I could see some improvement in my driving even in the extreme conditions, and with every kilometre the feeling is getting better.”
Hyundai Shell Mobis
Ott Tänak
“There has been a lot of action today, especially this afternoon – it was proper wet and tricky conditions. Unfortunately, we had some trouble with the windscreen again and water in the car, which made it a very demanding loop. The conditions changes from stage to stage so you never really know what you are going to find. There is always a new challenge you need to fight and overcome. Tomorrow should be smoother but the roads are still very rough in places.”
Thierry Neuville
“Today has been challenging – it’s hard to describe just how tough it has been out there today, for several reasons. I wasn’t feeling well at all after a bad night and struggled to keep my concentration and do my job, but we kept fighting and we were rewarded with third place overnight. Those were some extreme conditions this afternoon – I haven’t seen anything like it in my career. We’ve had some rough Safari Rally Kenyas in the past, but this is the roughest so far. ”
Pablo Marcos – Hyundai Team Manager
“It was another challenging day here at Safari Rally. We changed our approach from yesterday, where in the rough conditions we were dominant in terms of our performance; without our issues, all three cars would have been at the front of the field. Today we took a safer approach, trying to finish the day without any trouble. Our strategy has paid off with both Ott and Thierry in second and third overall. Our focus tomorrow is to avoid any problems and bring home a double podium, with Adrien also back in the fight for Super Sunday points.”