TOKYO, April 1, 2024 – (JCN Newswire) – – The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has won the legendary Safari Rally Kenya for the fourth consecutive year, with Kalle Rovanpera ahead of Takamoto Katsuta in a one-two finish on the challenging African track event.
The team continues its unbeaten run in the toughest round of the FIA World Rally Championship since its return to the calendar in 2021, also extending the all-time Safari record set by Toyota (NYSE:) at 12 wins.
The result once again demonstrates the strength and reliability of the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID, which for this event featured an updated suspension package and distinctive snorkel system – a modern take on an iconic feature of Safari-spec cars of the past.
It is the second time Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen have won the event following their success in 2022. Their victory was built on a phenomenal performance on the first full day of the rally on Friday, where they were fastest on all six the special stages obtaining an advantage of almost a minute. This allowed Rovanpera to pay attention where required on the longest and most difficult day on Saturday, where he still won the longest stage of the rally by a margin of almost 25 seconds while most of his competitors had problems.
With a lead of more than two minutes, Rovanpera was able to take a safe approach for much of the final day’s six stages and 74.38 competitive kilometres, ultimately sealing victory in 1 minute 37.8 seconds.
Katsuta scored his third podium in four starts in Kenya, repeating his second-place finish from 2021. He and co-driver Aaron Johnston led a well-measured rally, with two stage wins on Saturday helping them overcome a double puncture that was cost them for more than a minute.
Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin ensured all three Toyotas finished in the top four. They raced to second place before suffering punctures on three separate occasions during Saturday’s bumpy and rocky practice. This left the podium out of their reach, but they still gave it their all on Sunday to score as many points as possible, where they were third fastest on the day and fifth on the Power Stage.
With its one-two, TGR-WRT gained maximum constructor points from the overall standings plus a further 11 extra bonus points on Sunday and moves into a four-point lead in the championship. Evans took a total of 16 points from his weekend to keep himself second in the drivers’ standings, six off the lead.
Quotes:
Akio Toyoda (President of TGR-WRT)
“To all team members, congratulations on your first win this season and on winning the Safari Rally Kenya for the fourth consecutive year! Kalle, Jonne, congratulations on another win in Kenya after two years, and thank you for smart driving and running through those bumpy roads without any problems. Takamoto and Aaron, congratulations on being back on the podium in Kenya even after two years! It was great that you completed all those stages. The pre-event test just before Kenya took place in Portugal and it was raining heavily at the time. The team told me that it had rained a lot “luckily” and many parts had broken. Unlike previous years, the rally took place during the rainy season, and the engineers and mechanics continued to make improvements including rain countermeasures until just before the start of the rally.When I heard the word “luckily”, the words of the GR Yaris engineers came to mind. They always tell me, one of Toyota’s most experienced drivers: “Thank you for breaking the car as it will become even stronger!” So this time, on behalf of the team, I want to thank the rain in Portugal for making the GR Yaris Rally 1 stronger and for giving us the first victory. And of course I would like to thank all the team members who improved the car until the last minute. The same road can be a different road depending on the seasons and climate, and as we compete on such roads and in such conditions, the cars get stronger and our ever-better machine makes progress. I think rallying is that kind of sport. Upcoming events will take place at two-week intervals. I hope everyone on the team takes care of their health and continues to make better and better cars.”
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“We are very happy to win the Safari Rally once again and to get our first win of the season in this style here in Kenya. Kalle really dominated the rally from the start with a very intelligent approach. He had no problems throughout weekend, thanks to the team who provided such a good car, and also the way he managed to drive, thinking about when to attack and when to save the car. We are also really happy to see Taka on the podium in second place place. This seems to be a rally he really enjoys and, after the disappointment he had in Sweden, this is a really good result for him and the team. Luck wasn’t on Elfyn’s side, but he fought really hard and well to win as many points as possible for the championship. For now we will enjoy this moment and then we will work for the next challenge in Croatia.”
Kallé Rovanper? (Car driver 69)
“It’s special to be able to win the Safari for the second time. This event is very tough and is also legendary for Toyota: we have always been good here and we continue to maintain that record. As they say in Africa, the “The car in front is always one Toyota. A big thank you to the team, because everyone put in a lot of effort to make the car work so well. I think we did a good job, I think you can’t do a better Safari than what we did. “Without any problems and with intelligent riding. Today was difficult, having to ride the hardest stage of the calendar twice when you have a huge lead, trying to avoid everything, it’s not easy. We just had to stick to the plan and it worked.”
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It wasn’t an easy weekend for us. At least we managed to reach the end of the rally, which is a positive thing, but we wanted more from this weekend. Today we had good speed in some places but there were only some small problems so “We didn’t collect as many points as we would have liked. The first lap wasn’t easy: the first stage was very hard and we were probably too conservative compared to the others. In the Power Stage we tried but already in the first half it was very difficult.”
Takamoto Katsuta (Car Driver 18)
“It’s a very good feeling to get this second place and be on the podium again in Kenya. It was a tough rally as always, so we have to say a huge thank you to the team because they prepared very well and the car was working so well. Yesterday I made some mistakes and we had punctures, but I could always trust the car. When we needed to push, we were able to push and the times were good. Reliability is a strong point for Toyota and I am very proud to drive this car .”
PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, SAFARI RALLY KENYA
1 Kalle Rovanper?/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) 3h36m04.0s
2 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +1m37.8s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford (NYSE:) Puma Rally1 HYBRID) +2m25.1s
4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +4m20.2s
5 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai (OTC:) i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +10m.17.5s
6 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +18’05.4s
7 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +19m28.5s
8 Oct Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +21’02.0s
9 Jourdan Serderidis/Frederic Miclotte (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) +26m13.3s
10 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +26m34.4s
(Results at 3.30pm Sunday, for the latest results visit www.wrc.com)
2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers after round three:
1 Thierry Neuville 67 points
2Elfyn Evans61
3Adrien Fourmaux46
4 Oct Tanak 33
5 Kalle Rovanper? 31
6 Takamoto Katsuta 30
7Sebastien Ogier24
8 Esapekka Lapland 23
9Oliver Solberg12
10Andreas Mikkelsen6
2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers after round three:
1 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team 131 points
2 Hyundai Shell (LON:) Mobis World Rally Team 127
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 72
What’s next?
The Croatia Rally (18-21 April) takes place on challenging asphalt roads around the country’s capital, Zagreb. As well as a mix of fast sections and more technical sections, the stages feature constant changes in surface and grip.
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