Croatia Rally 2024 Ogier Tops Shakedown

The Croatia Rally 2024 shakedown stage has come to a close. Sebastien Ogier was the fastest driver in the Rally1 class. 

Shakedown Run One

Hyundai’s Ott Tänak kicked off his event with the fastest time on the first run of shakedown. The Estonian posted a time 0.4 seconds faster than his teammate and championship leader Thierry Neuville. Toyota drivers Sebastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans tied for third on the first run of shakedown. As both Ogier and Evans finished 2.1 seconds slower than Tänak and 1.7 seconds slower than Neuville. M-Sport driver Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on the first run, finishing 0.1 seconds slower than Ogier and Evans. 

Shakedown Run Two

Eight-time World Champion Sebastien Ogier was fastest on the second run of the Croatia Rally 2024 shakedown stage. As the Frenchman set a time 1.4 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak. Elfyn Evans finished with the fourth fastest one second slower than Neuville and Tänak. Adrien Fourmaux once again rounded out the top five, finishing 0.1 seconds slower than Evans. 

Shakedown Run 3/4

Only a handful of drivers did a third and fourth run of shakedown. Therefore I am going to put them both in the same section, otherwise, there would only be one driver in the fourth run slot. Elfyn Evans was fastest on the third run of the shakedown stage. As the 2023 Croatia Rally winner set a time 0.9 seconds faster than Ott Tänak. Andreas Mikkelsen finished third fastest, 1.6 seconds slower than Tänak and 2.5 seconds slower than Evans. Takamoto Katsuta was the slowest on the third and fourth runs of shakedown. As the Japanese driver finished 4.6 seconds slower than Mikkelsen. 

What To Expect From Day One 

The first day of Croatia Rally 2024 will see drivers contest 119.74 km across eight stages. The longest of the day’s stages is the 23.63 km Krašić-Sošice stage which is the final stage of each loop. While the shortest is the 9.48 km Jaškovo-Mali Morduš Potok stage which is the third stage of each loop. Day one will feature a single tire fitting zone between the two loops and no service. Thierry Neuville will be first on the road as he leads the championship. Normally this would be a disadvantage to drivers. However, due to the Croatia Rally being a tarmac event, it can actually be an advantage. This is a result of having a clean road. As more cars contest the stage the more mud, dirt and gravel will get pulled out onto the road due to cutting. Elfyn Evans is second on the road, followed by Adrien Fourmaux. 

The fourth round of the 2024 WRC season the Croatia Rally is upon us, below I will give some predictions for the event. 

Neuville Wins

It’s no secret that Thierry Neuville is one of the best if not the best driver on tarmac in the WRC. Elfyn Evans may have won two of the four tarmac events last season, including the Croatia Rally. Neuville has been much more consistent on tarmac throughout his career. As the Belgian has won 10 events on tarmac since 2014. Whilst Evans has only on two since 2014. Predicting a Neuville win may seem like a low-risk prediction, and for the most part, it is. However, the 35-year-old has never won the event. Neuville’s best finish at the event is third in both 2021 and 2022. Neuville has had a spectacular start to the 2024 season. Winning the Rallye Monte-Carlo to kick off the season and then finishing fourth and fifth in Sweden and Kenya respectively. 

Tänak Bounces Back 

Ott Tänak has had a rather disappointing start to his 2024 season compared to his Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville. As the 2019 World Champion has yet to complete an event without an incident costing him loads of time. In Monte-Carlo, it was a simple slide off the road which cost him a decent chunk of time. In Sweden an off forced Tänak to retire early into the event. Finally in Kenya, a rock sent Tänak’s i20 flying into a berm. Tänak isn’t out of the championship race yet despite him sitting 34 points behind Neuville and 28 behind Elfyn Evans, his two biggest championship rivals this season. That being said Tänak will need a strong result in Croatia to maintain a decent chance at the championship heading into the middle of the season. I wouldn’t be shocked if Tänak finishes on the podium this weekend. 

Munster Will Impress

Grégoire Munster hasn’t had a great start to the 2024 season. This isn’t much of a surprise, however. As this is Munster’s first full season in a Rally1 car. Granted the 25-year-old did contest two events in a Rally1 car last season. Nevertheless, a slow start for Munster isn’t much of a surprise. Munster was doing good in Monte-Carlo before he got stuck on the side of the road and was forced into a Super Rally. There is a reason I believe Munster will shine this weekend. That reason is because Munster has always been relatively good on Tarmac. I’m not expecting a podium finish from Munster, however, a top-five finish could be in the cards. 

Rossel Takes WRC2 Win

Yohan Rossel has won the WRC2 class at the Croatia Rally every time it’s been a part of the championship excluding 2021 when Mads Østberg won the event. Due to this picking Rossel to win the WRC2 class again this weekend isn’t a hard choice. Especially when the start of this season has been identical to the start of last season. Rossel took home the win in Monte-Carlo once again, Solberg won in Sweden and Greensmith won the third event of the year. This also makes Rossel an easy choice to predict as the winner for this weekend’s event. Much like Monte-Carlo, Rossel will have to fend off Nikolay Gryazin and Pepe López. This is in addition to names such as Sami Pajari, Gus Greensmith, Niclas Ciamin and Emil Lindholm, all of which can hold their own on Tarmac. 

The fourth round of the 2024 WRC season, the Croatia Rally is upon us. Find out all you need to know about the event below. 

Drivers’ Championship Rundown

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville leads the championship after the first three events of the season. The Belgian holds a 6-point lead over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans. Both Neuville and Evans were favourites to win the championship heading into the season alongside Ott Tänak. M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux who has had a stunner of a season thus far sits third in the championship, 21 points behind Neuville and 15 behind Evans. On the other hand, Hyundai’s Ott Tänak has had a less-than-desirable start to the season. As the 2019 World Champion has yet to finish in a podium position. Nevertheless, Tänak sits 13 points behind Fourmaux. Reigning champion Kalle Rovanperä rounds out the championship top five heading into the Croatia Rally. Rovanperä sits just 2 two points behind Tänak, However, Rovanperä will not contest this weekend’s event. 

Manufacturers’ Championship Rundown 

Despite only having one win under their belt this season the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT tops the manufacturers’ championship heading into the Croatia Rally. Toyota holds a four-point lead over the Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT. M-Sport Ford rounds out the top three in the championship sitting 55 points behind Hyundai and 59 points behind Toyota. 

Event Rundown

Conditions

Conditions at the Croatia Rally are expected to vary throughout the weekend. As Friday is expected to be clear and dry for the most part. On Saturday it is expected to rain which would make the stages wet during the day, and they will likely be wet again on Sunday. It is worth noting this could entirely change, as conditions during recce were similar to Monte-Carlo’s. Anything is possible, drivers and teams will have to adapt on the fly as they do every weekend. 

Day One 

The first day of the Croatia Rally will see drivers contest 119.74 km across eight stages. The longest of the day’s stages is the 23.63 km Krašić-Sošice stage which is the final stage of each loop. While the shortest is the 9.48 km Jaškovo-Mali Morduš Potok stage which is the third stage of each loop. Day one will feature a single tire fitting zone between the two loops and no service. 

Day Two

The second of three days will see drivers contest 108.76 km across another eight stages. The longest stage on the day is the 20.77 km Stojdraga-Gornja Vas stage which is the second stage of each loop. While the shortest stage of the day is the 8.78 km Vinski-Duga Resa stage which is the third stage of each loop. Unlike the first day the second day will feature one midday service for the drivers, the length of this service is 40 minutes. 

Day Three

The third and final day of the Croatia Rally will see drivers contest 54.78 km across four stages. The longest stage of the day is the 14.24 km Zagorska Sela-Kumrovec stage which is the second stage of each loop and will serve as the Powerstage. While the shortest stage of the day is the 13.15 km Trakošćan-Vrbno stage which is the first stage of each loop. 

Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport Ford have written to the FIA requesting current Rally1 regulations remain in place until the end of the 2026 World Rally Championship season. The move comes after the WRC recommended significant regulatory change for next season. Some of the changes include Rally1 cars running without hybrid, less aero and less power while Rally2 cars get more power and more aero. There are mixed feelings on the urgency to push the changes. Many manufacturers have agreements in place through 2026 with hybrid and power unit suppliers so a change to the technical regulations will increase tense and squeeze budgets as teams attempt to homologate.

The WRC Technical Rules to be Finalized in June

This coming Tuesday marks the next opportunity for the teams to discuss potential changes to the 2025 rules. The rules will be finalized later this year in June. Cyril Abiteboul, Team principal for Hyundai WRT stated in an interview with Autosport.com, “One of the things we are trying to do is to build a plan in advance, which Hyundai was not very good at in the past, so for once we have a new team and technical leadership and was pushing hard to have a very well-structured technical project, and that has been brought down by a regulator’s decision. It is vital that we have very quick rules ratified by the World Motor Sport Council so that we can simply work towards these regulations. For me, the timing of June is simply not possible for us to be able to do a good job for next year.

I’m sure, if the FIA needs a quicker decision, I’m very confident they can find ways. They must appreciate that a ratification of rules in June for a car that needs to be designed, tested and validated for January, it is not a lot of time to design, build, test and validate.”

The concerns seems to be time. With every change in motorsport regulation comes cost and decision making time for the teams. The teams will have to choose which areas to focus research and development on while also leaving enough budget to maintain the cars performance. With the next WRC council meeting scheduled for next week. More information may be available to the teams as we approach the final decision on rule changes.

The fourth and final day of Safari Rally Kenya has come to an end. Kalle Rovanperä held on to take the win. 

SS14, Malewa 1

Thierry Neuville kicked off the final day with a stage win. Neuville set a time 4.7 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to take the stage win. Esapekka Lappi finished third fastest on the stage, 5 seconds slower than Tänak. Elfyn Evans was fourth fastest on the stage, 1.1 seconds slower than Lappi. Grégoire Munster rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 6.8 seconds slower than Evans. 

SS15, Oserengoni 1

Elfyn Evans took home the stage win on the fifteenth stage of Safari Rally Kenya. Evans posted a time 3.2 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to take the stage win. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest on the stage, 2.3 seconds slower than Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 5.2 seconds slower than Neuville. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.4 seconds slower than Katsuta. 

SS16, Hell’s Gate 1

Elfyn Evans capped off the morning loop with his second stage win of the day. Evans set a time 2.6 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to claim the stage win. Takamoto Katsuta finished third fastest on the stage, 0.8 seconds slower than Tänak. Adrien Fourmaux was fourth fastest on the stage, 5.2 seconds slower than Katsuta. Kalle Rovanperä rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Fourmaux. 

SS17, Malewa 2

Thierry Neuville kicked off the afternoon loop of Safari Rally Kenya’s final day in the same fashion as the morning loop, with a stage win. As Neuville posted a time 1.1 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to win his second stage of the day. Esapekka Lappi finished third fastest on the stage, 3.8 seconds slower than Tänak. Elfyn Evans was fourth fastest on the stage, 3.9 seconds slower than Lappi. Grégoire Munster rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.6 seconds slower than Evans.

SS18, Oserengoni 2

Ott Tänak took the stage win on the penultimate stage of the weekend. Tänak set a time 4.3 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to claim the stage win. Esapekka Lappi finished third fastest on the stage, 4.2 seconds slower than Neuville. Adrien Fourmaux posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.4 seconds slower than Lappi. Grégoire Munster rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 5.9 seconds slower than Fourmaux. 

SS19, Hell’s Gate 2 

Thierry Neuville took home the win on the final stage of Safari Rally Kenya 2024. As Neuville posted a time 0.4 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to win the stage. Esapekka Lappi finished third fastest, 1.5 seconds slower than Tänak. Kalle Rovanperä was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Lappi. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, 2.9 seconds slower than Rovanperä. 

The third day of Safari Rally Kenya has come to an end. Kalle Rovanperä retained his lead after the day. 

SS8, Soysambu 1

Takamoto Katsuta kicked off the penultimate day with a stage win. As Katsuta set a time 0.2 seconds faster than Esapekka Lappi to take his first stage win of the weekend. Kalle Rovanperä finished third fastest, 5 seconds slower than Lappi. Thierry Neuville was fourth fastest on the stage, 2.9 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.2 seconds slower than Neuville. 

SS9, Elmenteita 1 

Thierry Neuville took home the stage win on the ninth stage of Safari Rally Kenya. With Neuville posting a time 5.2 seconds faster than Esapekka Lappi to take his second stage win of the weekend. Kalle Rovanperä finished third fastest on the stage, 1.9 seconds slower than Lappi. Takamoto Katsuta set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.7 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.6 seconds slower than Katsuta. 

SS10, Sleeping Warrior 1

Kalle Rovanperä ended the morning loop with his seventh stage win of the weekend. As the event leader set a time 24.8 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to take the stage win. Elfyn Evans finished third fastest on the stage, 27.1 seconds slower than Neuville. Ott Tänak was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.8 seconds slower than Evans. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five, finishing 1.9 seconds slower than Tänak. 

SS11, Soysambu 2

Takamoto Katsuta kicked off the afternoon loop in the same fashion as the morning loop, with a stage win. As Katsuta posted a time 2.6 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to take his second stage win of the day. Kalle Rovanperä finished third fastest on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Evans. Ott Tänak set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 6.3 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Adrien Fourmuax rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.2 seconds slower than Tänak. 

SS12, Elmenteita 2 

Elfyn Evans topped the penultimate stage of the penultimate day at Safari Rally Kenya. As Evans set a time 1 second faster than Ott Tänak to take his first stage win of the weekend. Adrien Fourmaux finished third fastest on the stage, 1.9 seconds slower than Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta was fourth fastest on the stage, 3.2 seconds slower than Fourmuax. Kalle Rovanperä rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.5 seconds slower than Katsuta. 

SS13, Sleeping Warrior 2

Ott Tänak capped off the day with his first stage win of the weekend. As the Estonian posted a time 10 seconds faster than Takamoto Katsuta. Kalle Rovanperä finished third fastest on the stage, 8.8 seconds slower than Katsuta. Adrien Fourmaux set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 20.9 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 20.2 seconds slower than Neuville. 

The second day of Safari Rally Kenya has come to an end. Kalle Rovanperä took the event lead after the day. 

SS2, Loldia 1

Reigning World Champion Kalle Rovanperä kicked off the second day with a stage win. As the Fin posted a time 0.9 seconds faster than Esapekka Lappi to top the stage. Ott Tänak finished third fastest on the stage, 1.2 seconds slower than Lappi. Thierry Neuville was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.5 seconds slower than Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the days opening stage, finishing 7.3 seconds slower than Neuville. 

SS3, Geothermal 1

Kalle Rovanperä also took the stage win on the third stage of Safari Rally Kenya. With Rovanperä setting a benchmark time 1.4 seconds faster than Esapekka Lappi on the stage. Ott Tänak finished third fastest, 2.9 seconds slower than Lappi. Takamoto Katsuta set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.5 seconds slower than Tänak. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 5.9 seconds slower than Katsuta. 

SS4, Kedong 1

Kalle Rovanperä also took the stage win on the fourth stage of the weekend to sweep the second days morning loop. Rovanperä posted a time 11.1 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to win his third stage of the weekend. Esapekka Lappi finished third fastest, 1.4 seconds slower than Tänak. Elfyn Evans was fourth fastest on the stage, 7.2 seconds slower than Lappi. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 6.6 seconds slower than Evans. 

SS5, Loldia 2

Kalle Rovanperä continued his dominance into the afternoon loop. As Rovanperä set a set 0.6 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta who tied for second on the stage. Ott Tänak was fourth fastest on the stage, 1.2 seconds slower than Evans and Katsuta. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.8 seconds slower than Tänak. 

SS6, Geothermal 2

If you guess Kalle Rovanperä took the stage win on the penultimate stage of Safari Rally Kenya day two, you’d be correct. As the 2022 event winner posted a time 4.5 seconds faster than Takamoto Katsuta to top the stage. Elfyn Evans finished third fastest on the stage, 3 seconds slower than Katsuta. Grégoire Munster posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.2 seconds slower than Evans. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Munster. 

SS7, Kedong 2

Kalle Rovanperä also took home the final stage win of the day to complete a sweep on the day. Rovanperä set a benchmark time 4.4 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to win his sixth consecutive stage. Elfyn Evans finished third fastest on the stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta was fourth fastest on the stage, 8.7 seconds slower than Evans. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on the stage, 5.2 seconds slower than Katsuta. 

Rovanperä Sweeps 

Kalle Rovanperä won every stage on the second day of Safari Rally Kenya. The reigning World Champion was extraordinary all day long. Rovanperä ended the day with a 56.9 second lead over Elfyn Evans. 

What To Expect From Safari Rally Kenya Day Three 

The penultimate day of Safari Rally Kenya is expected to be a fun one. As drivers will contest 160.96 km across 6 stages. Kalle Rovanperä may head into the day nearly a minute ahead of Elfyn Evans, however that doesn’t mean anything in Kenya. As the Kenyan wilderness is extraordinarily unforgiving. Tomorrow will feature the most feared stage of the event, Sleeping Warrior. This 36.08 km test will push drivers to the absolute limit. Takamoto Katsuta sits third overall, 3.9 seconds behind Evans and a minute and 0.8 seconds behind Rovanperä. Thierry Neuville sits just outside a podium position. As the championship leader sits 6.5 seconds behind Katsuta. 

The first day of Safari Rally Kenya has come to a close. Thierry Neuville and Gus Greensmith lead their classes. 

Rally1 SS1, Kasanari

Championship leader Thierry Neuville kicked off the weekend with a stage win. As the Belgian posted a time 0.1 seconds faster than championship rival and teammate Ott Tänak. 2022 Safari Rally Kenya winner Kalle Rovanperä finished third fastest, 0.7 seconds slower than Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta was fourth fastest on the opening stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Esapekka Lappi rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Takamoto Katsuta. 

WRC2 SS1, Kasanari

Gus Greensmith kicked off his season with a stage win. As the 2023 WRC2 championship runner-up posted a time 2.8 seconds faster than championship rival Oliver Solberg. Kajetan Kajetanowicz finished third fastest, 0.3 seconds slower than Solberg. Niclas Ciamin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.9 seconds slower than Kajetanowicz. Diego Dominquez rounded out the top five on the opening stage, 2.6 seconds slower than Ciamin. 

What To Expect From Safari Rally Kenya Day Two 

As expected no drivers lost massive time on the opening SuperSpecial stage. Only 2.2 seconds separate the top seven in the Rally1 class heading into the first full day of action. In the WRC2 class, there was definitely some time left behind by a few drivers. As 3.1 seconds separated first from third in the class. Day two will see drivers contest 127.58 km across six stages. Thierry Neuville will be on road sweeping duty for the second day. Elfyn Evans will follow behind Neuville. Anything can happen throughout the day’s six stages. As the Kenyan wilderness is extremely unforgiving. Weather will play a huge factor in how the day goes. If it’s dry and dusty lingering dust could hamper some drivers as the stage progresses. If it’s wet and muddy some drivers could get stuck on the stages. Anything can happen and drivers have to prepare for everything. 

The Safari Rally Kenya shakedown stage has come to an end. Kalle Rovanperä and Gus Greensmith top their classes. 

Rally1 Shakedown

Kalle Rovanperä was in top shape on the shakedown stage. As the 2021 Safari Rally Kenya winner posted a time 0.2 seconds faster than championship leader Thierry Neuville. Rally Sweden winner Esapekka Lappi finished third, 0.1 seconds behind Neuville. Ott Tänak was fourth fastest on the shakedown stage, as the Estonian set a time 1.3 seconds slower than Lappi. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.5 seconds slower than Tänak. 

WRC2 Shakedown 

Gus Greensmith was the fastest in the WRC2 class on the shakedown stage. With the 2023 WRC2 championship runner-up setting a time 1.2 seconds faster than championship rival Oliver Solberg. Kajetan Kajetanowicz who won the WRC2 class at the Safari Rally Kenya finished third fastest, 3 seconds slower than Solberg. WRC2 newcomer Diego Dominguez posted the fourth fastest time on the shakedown stage, 8.6 seconds slower than Kajetanowicz. Niclas Ciamin rounded out the top five, finishing 6.5 seconds slower than Dominquez. 

What To Expect From Safari Rally Kenya Day One 

The opening day of the third round isn’t much to talk about. As the day features only one SuperSpecial stage. The stage totals 4.84 km in distance. Fans will also be able to see drivers go head-to-head directly on the stage. As the Safari Rally Kenya SuperSpecial stage allows for two cars to run the track at once. There likely won’t be much time gained or lost in either class tomorrow. However, anything is possible and one spin on the SuperSpecial could be the difference between first and second at the end of the event. The drivers will look to get an early advantage on SSS1. Especially Thierry Neuville who is on road sweeping duty tomorrow. 

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.