The 2024 World Rally Championship season continues next weekend with round three, Safari Rally Kenya.
Championship Rundown
Thierry Neuville holds the championship lead heading into Safari Rally Kenya. Neuville now holds a three-point lead over Elfyn Evans. Adrien Fourmaux sits third in the championship after a strong first two events of the season. Fourmaux sits 16 points behind Evans. Sebastien Ogier moves down to fourth in the championship after Rally Sweden. This isn’t a surprise as the 8-time World Rally Champion didn’t contest Rally Sweden last month and will once again be absent in Kenya. Ogier sits five points behind fellow countryman Fourmaux. Ott Tänak rounds out the top five in the championship, with the Estonian sitting just three points behind Ogier.
Team Rundowns
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT
Hyundai is having arguably their best season since they returned to the WRC in 2013. As the Korean manufacturer is two-for-two to start the season off. As Thierry Neuville took the win in Monte-Carlo and Esapekka Lappi in Sweden. The team likely won’t win Safari Rally Kenya however. As the team’s best result was third back in 2021. Thierry Neuville, Ott Tänak and Esapekka Lappi will look to improve on that result this year. However, they will have to fend off a trio of Toyota drivers.
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Toyota has won every edition of Safari Rally Kenya since the event returned in 2021. Sebastien Ogier has won the event twice, while Kalle Rovanperä has won it once. Ogier won’t be attending this weekend as previously mentioned. Toyota has swept the podium the last two times at the event. The team will look to lock out the podium once again this year. It’ll be a tough task for Kalle Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta, who will have no safety net driver like they’ve had the last two years. Luckily for them, they drive the most reliable car in the championship. It’s also a car that hasn’t had many issues in Kenya.
M-Sport Ford WRT
M-Sport heads into Safari Kenya with two strong events under their belts. As Adrien Fourmaux has shocked many to start the season. As the Frenchman sits third in the championship heading into round three. While Grégoire Munster had a good showing in Monte-Carlo until his car got stuck. Munster had a worse showing in Sweden. Fourmuax is expected to drop off a little at the season’s toughest event. However, as previously mentioned, Fourmaux has done nothing but smash expectations this season.
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.
Earlier this month it was announced the Rally Islas Canarias will join the WRC in 2025 and 2026.
A New Event In A Familiar Place
The Rally Islas Canarias may be new to the WRC, however the country in which the event takes place is no stranger to the championship. As Spain has a rich history in the WRC. Spain has previously hosted a World Rally Championship round on multiple occasions. Rally De Catalunya has previously been Spain’s entry into the championship. With the event being a part of the championship 30 times in the WRC’s 50-some-year history. Spain was last featured as an event in 2022. Sebastien Ogier took home the win at the event.
Rally Islas Canarias History
The Rally Islas Canarias was first run in 1977 as a full tarmac event. Medardo Pérez took home the win in the first two runnings of the event. Names such as Gilles Panizzi, Didier Auriol, Piero Liatti, Adrien Fourmaux and Carlos Sainz have taken home the win at the event. The most recent winner is Yoann Bonato in 2023. The event has been a staple on the European Championship calendar since 2013 when it rejoined the calendar after a stint in the International Rally Challenge.
What To Expect From The Event?
The Rally Islas Canarias will give drivers a somewhat unique tarmac rally experience. The event will also give drivers some exquisite views throughout the event. However, they can’t get caught up in the scenery for too long as cliffs and various other obstacles line the sides of the stages.
When Could The Rally Islas Canarias Run?
No set date has been announced for the new event. As the event still has to be approved by the FIA for the 2025 WRC calendar. However, the event runs from May 2nd through 4th this year. This puts the event between the times the Croatia Rally and Rally Vodafone De Portugal run this season.
The Croatia Rally doesn’t have a known contract for the 2025 season at this point in time, however, they are in discussions at this time. However, with the addition of Rally Islas Canarias, the Croatia Rally may be without a spot next year and in 2026. As the Rally Islas Canarias is expected to once again run sometime between the middle of April and the second week of May next year. There is also a chance the event could move to the timeframe the Central European Rally runs in. As the CER also doesn’t have a known contract for next season.
Earlier this week the Safari Rally Kenya entry list was released among the entrants was Gus Greensmith.
Season Debut
Gus Greensmith will make his first appearance of the 2024 World Rally Championship season at the calendar’s toughest event, Safari Rally Kenya. Greensmith is no stranger to the event. As he has previously contested the event two times at the sports top level. In 2021 Greensmith finished fourth at the event, a minute and 54.6 seconds behind Ott Tänak who finished third. The 27-year-old Brit is a favourite to win the championship this season. However, Greensmith will have to overcome multiple equally strong drivers over the course of the season. Including his teammates Oliver Solberg and Pierre-Louis Loubet. The battle for the championship is expected to be tight once again this season. As last year’s championship had 30 points separating first and third. Plus Andreas Mikkelsen has moved back up to the sports top level. Ensuring this season will see a new champion crowned.
Hunting For The Championship
Last season the WRC2 title barely got away from Greensmith. As he finished second in the championship, 23 points behind Andreas Mikkelsen. Greensmith will look to take home the championship this season. Kenya should be an easy place to grab some good points. As the only other championship competition at the event will be Oliver Solberg and last year’s class winner Kajetan Kajetanowciz. If Greensmith finishes the event he should be able to take home a podium finish. The difficult part will be finishing the event. As Kenya is known for being extremely difficult and rough on the cars. It’s a gamble but it’s a strategic gamble. Greensmith realizes there are good points on the table and he’s taking a chance at them. How this gamble will work for Greensmith will be determined after the event has finished.
Earlier this week it was announced that reigning champion Kalle Rovanperä will contest Safari Rally Kenya next month.
Second Event Of The Season
Kalle Rovanperä is only doing a partial campaign in 2024. As the reigning champion is taking the year to explore other motorsport disciplines and to take time off. Safari Rally Kenya will be Rovanperä’s second event of the season. Statistically, Rovanperä has done well at the calendar’s most challenging event. As the two-time champion has won the event once back in 2022 and finished second last season. Rovanperä is expected to be one of the front runners yet again this season.
A Bit Unexpected
Kalle Rovanperä wasn’t expected to contest Safari Rally Kenya. As Sebastien Ogier was expected to after winning the event last season. Nevertheless, Rovanperä is a welcomed addition to the event. This will likely open the door for Ogier to contest Croatia in April and then one of Rally Italia Sardegna or Vodafone Rally De Portugal in a few months. Both Ogier and Rovanperä are strong at the event. As Toyota will be looking to lock out the podium once again this season. As they’ve done so the last two runnings of the event. Hyundai will try their hardest to stop this. At this time it’s unknown who will fill the third seat for Hyundai at the event. It’s expected to be Rally Sweden winner Esapekka Lappi, however, the team has yet to confirm.
No 1-2-3-4 This Year
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT has nearly locked out the top five at Safari Rally Kenya for the past two seasons. This season it will be impossible for them to do so. As they will only be running three cars, hence they can’t have a 1-2-3-4 finish. Nevertheless, the team is expected to pull out almost all the stops to claim a podium lockout again this season.
Rally Sweden saw two very rare feats achieved in the WRC2 class. Find out what they were below.
WRC2 Car Top Three Overnight
Oliver Solberg achieved something that has only been seen a handful of times in the WRC. That achievement was ending a day top three overall in a Rally2 car. The last driver to do this was somebody Oliver knows very well. As well, the last driver to do so was Oliver’s father, Petter Solberg. Petter ended the first day of Rally Wales GB 2019 third overall, 1.2 seconds behind Thierry Neuville. Petter was piloting a Volkswagen Polo R5 at the event. Four years and some months later Oliver stuck his Skoda Fabia Rally2 in the top three to end a day. As Oliver ended the second day of Rally Sweden 2024 third overall, a minute and 17.5 seconds behind Takamoto Katsuta.
A Rally2 Car Wins A Stage Outright
Georg Linnamäe kicked off his WRC2 season at Rally Sweden. The Estonian decided to kick it off with a bit of a bang. As Linnamäe took home the outright stage win on SS5. Linnamäe set a time 2.4 seconds faster than Oliver Solberg to top the first stage of his career. Oddly enough there is another feat accomplished by this stage win. As Linnamäe’s stage win on SS5 happened to be the first stage won by a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 in the WRC2 class. The last WRC2 driver to top a stage outright was Josh McErlean on the 16th stage of Rally Portugal 2022. Sure this was a SuperSpecial stage. However, the top Rally1 car finished 13th overall, only 0.3 seconds faster than a WRC3 car. The last full stage won by a WRC2 car was the 2020 running of the Monza Rally. Where Umberto Scandola won SS11 by posting a time 12.2 seconds faster than Sebastien Ogier.
Esapekka Lappi’s win at Rally Sweden is an extra special one for Hyundai. Find out why below.
Why Was This Win Special?
Every win in the World Rally Championship is special. However, Lappi’s win in Rally Sweden is a different kind of special. This was not only Lappi’s second event win. Rally Sweden 2024 had a special meaning for everyone in paddocks. As it marks one year since Craig Breen’s final rally. Breen finished second overall last season to Ott Tänak. Lappi claiming the win this time out was special because Hyundai were honoring Breen all weekend long. Giving this win a much deeper meaning. The team wore Breen’s famed “Breenies” all weekend long to honor the fallen star. The Brattby stage was also renamed to #42 Brattby to honor the Mayor of Brattby.
Honoring The Mayor Of Brattby
During Lappi’s podium celebration the team put a poster stating “In honour of the Mayor Of Brattby” with a picture of Breen holding up last year’s trophy beside it on the car’s windshield. This goes to show the team were indeed honoring the Irish star this past weekend. Breen has been deeply missed by the rally community since his passing in April during a pre-event test for the Croatia Rally. Since then Hyundai have continued to honor Breen every chance they’ve gotten. With the team still running a sticker on the back of the i20 Rally1 saying #ForCraig in honor of Breen. Don’t be surprised if the team honor Breen again during the Croatia Rally in April. As well as continue to honor him throughout the 2024 season.
Breen’s Presence
Craig Breen was one of the brightest and most joyful people in the paddocks. No matter what was going on he always seemed to lighten the mood and knew what to say. He was always willing to make a joke. He always had a smile on his face. Breen was one of the best to lace up a pair of driving boots to never win an event.
Adrien Fourmaux has been one of the best drivers to start the 2024 WRC season. This has been a surprise.
Fourmaux Surprises In Monte
Adrien Fourmaux kicked off the 2024 season with a top-five finish. The 2023 British Rally Champion was probably the biggest surprise of Rallye Monte-Carlo. Fourmaux showed a lot of growth during the season’s opening event. Fourmaux didn’t take home any stage wins, nor did any major drivers retire. Other than Fourmaux’s strong finishing position nothing really stood out about his run. It was a good start to the season nonetheless, and it showed what the 28-year-old is capable of.
Shining In Sweden
In Fourmaux’s second full event back at the top level he achieved his first-ever career podium. This comes as a slight surprise. A lot of people, myself included, predicted one of Fourmaux or Munster would podium this season. However, nobody realistically expected it at the second event of the season, Rally Sweden. Fourmaux sat second overall at the end of the third day. However, the French star quickly fell to third overall. As he decided to lay off and relax a bit on the third day. Taking no risks to ensure he finished on the podium. Fourmaux showed a lot of maturity on the final two days of the event. This is a completely different Fourmaux than what we saw in 2022 during his last run at the top level. It’s a nice change for one of the WRC’s better young drivers.
Heading Into Kenya
The next event on the 2024 World Rally Championship calendar is Safari Rally Kenya at the end of next month. Fourmaux holds third in the championship heading into the most difficult event on the calendar. He is expected to drop from the championship top three after the event. As a lack of experience at the event will likely hamper his hopes of remaining top three. However, Fourmaux has done nothing but shock everyone to start the season and beat all expectations.
The second round of the 2024 WRC season has come to an end. Esapekka Lappi took home his second career win at Rally Sweden.
Championship Rundown
Thierry Neuville retained the championship lead after the second round. Neuville now holds a three-point lead over Elfyn Evans heading into Safari Rally Kenya next month. Adrien Fourmaux sits third in the championship after a strong first two events of the season. Fourmaux sits 16 points behind Evans. Sebastien Ogier moves down to fourth in the championship after Rally Sweden. This isn’t a surprise as the 8-time World Rally Champion didn’t contest Rally Sweden. Ogier sits five points behind fellow countryman Fourmaux. Ott Tänak rounds out the top five in the championship. With the Estonian sitting just three points behind Ogier.
Rally Sweden Day One
Kalle Rovanperä was right back into shape on the opening stage of Rally Sweden. Rovanperä who missed Rallye Monte-Carlo took the stage win on the first days lone stage. Rovanperä set a time 1.4 seconds faster than Takamoto Katsuta to top the stage. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top three after the day, sitting 0.6 seconds behind Katsuta.
Rally Sweden Day Two
The second day of Rally Sweden saw drivers contest 107.9 km across seven stages. Esapekka Lappi took the event lead on the day. After both Rovanperä and Tänak crashed out. Lappi was able to take a 3.2-second lead over Takamoto Katsuta into the third day. Oliver Solberg sat third overall, a minute and 17.5 seconds behind Katsuta after the day. Lappi took home the most stage wins on the day, winning four of the seven stages.
Rally Sweden Day Three
The third and longest day of Rally Sweden saw drivers contest 124.96 km across 7 stages. Esapekka Lappi retained his lead on the day after his largest competitor Takamoto Katsuta crashed out on SS10. Lappi ended the day with a minute and 6.3-second lead over Adrien Fourmaux. Elfyn Evans sat third overall at the end of the day, 16.7 seconds behind Fourmaux. Thierry Neuville won the most stages on the day, winning three out of the seven stages.
Rally Sweden Day Four
The fourth and final day of Rally Sweden saw drivers contest 61.08 km across three stages. Esapekka Lappi held out to take home the win. Lappi ended the day with a 29.6-second lead over Elfyn Evans. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the podium, finishing 18.3 seconds slower than Evans. Kalle Rovanperä won the most stages on the day. As the Finnish driver won two of the three stages. However, Elfyn Evans was the fastest on Super Sunday. Claiming 11 additional points on the day to up his event total to 24 points.
Lappi Wins His Second
It has been 2,394 days since Esapekka Lappi took home his first rally win. As Lappi won the 2017 running of his home event Rally Finland. Lappi came close to taking his second win nearly a year ago at Rally Mexico. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as a power pole ended Lappi’s event early. Lappi’s win also means Hyundai has a 100% win rate this season. As Thierry Neuville took home the season-opening win at the Rallye Monte-Carlo last month.
Rough Conditions
Rally1 drivers had less-than-desirable conditions pretty much all weekend. As on the second day’s afternoon loop, heavy snow left Neuville and Evans clearing about 10 cm of snow off the road. Day three wasn’t much different. As Tänak and Rovanperä both struggled in the road-sweeping positions. Even without additional snow. There wasn’t nearly enough ice for the tire studs to work as intended. This left drivers with constantly changing conditions. In one corner they could’ve had near-perfect grip, on the next they had none. This is Rally Sweden’s largest challenge, however.
The fourth and final day of Rally Sweden has come to an end. Oliver Solberg held on to claim the WRC2 class victory.
SS16, Västervik 1
Oliver Solberg kicked off the final day with a stage win. As Solberg set a time 3.9 seconds faster than Roope Korhonen to top the stage. Sami Pajari finished third fastest on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Korhonen. Georg Linnamäe posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.8 seconds slower than Pajari. Emil Lindholm rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.4 seconds slower than Linnamäe.
SS17, Västervik 2
Sami Pajari took home the stage win on the penultimate stage of Rally Sweden. As Pajari posted a time 0.3 seconds faster than Emil Lindholm. Georg Linnamäe finished third fastest on the stage, 0.5 seconds slower than Lindholm. Mikko Heikklä set the fourth fastest time on the stage, one second slower than Linnamäe. Oliver Solberg rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.6 seconds slower than Heikklä.
SS18, Umeá 2
Oliver Solberg capped off his home event with a stage win. As the Swede set a time 4.7 seconds faster than Georg Linnamäe to top the stage. Roope Korhonen finished third fastest, 0.4 seconds slower than Linnamäe. Jan Solans posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Korhonen. Mikko Heikklä rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.9 seconds slower than Solans.
Rally Sweden Final Classification
Oliver Solberg held onto the lead to end the event with a minute and 19.7-second lead over Sami Pajari. Georg Linnamäe finished third overall, 2.5 seconds behind Pajari. Roope Korhonen ended his first event of the season fourth overall, 21.7 seconds behind Linnamäe. Mikko Heikklä rounded out the top five overall, finishing 37.6 seconds slower than Korhonen.
The fourth and final day of Rally Sweden has come to an end. Esapekka Lappi held on to claim the win.
SS16, Västervik 1
Kalle Rovanperä kicked off the first stage of the final day with a stage win. As the reigning champion set a time 6.3 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to top the stage. Takamoto Katsuta finished third fastest on the stage, 7.3 seconds slower than Evans. Ott Tänak posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Katsuta. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 5.5 seconds slower than Tänak.
SS17, Västervik 2
Elfyn Evans took home the stage win on the penultimate stage of Rally Sweden. As Evans posted a time 4.1 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to top the stage. Adrien Fourmaux finished fourth fastest on the stage, five seconds slower than Neuville. Kalle Rovanperä set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.2 seconds slower than Fourmaux. Ott Tänak rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.3 seconds slower than Rovanperä.
SS18, Umeá 2
Kalle Rovanperä took home the final stage win of the weekend. As the 2022 winner set a time 0.1 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans on the stage. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Evans. Ott Tänak posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.9 seconds slower than Tänak.
Rally Sweden Final Classification
Esapekka Lappi held onto his lead despite a push from Elfyn Evans on the final day. Lappi ended the event with a 29.6-second lead over Evans. Adrien Fourmaux finished third overall, 18.3 seconds slower than Evans. Thierry Neuville ends Rally Sweden fourth overall, 58.4 seconds slower than Fourmaux. Oliver Solberg rounds out the top five at the event, three minutes and 17.9 seconds behind Neuville.