Kalle Rovanperä’s Midsummer’s Eve went moderately well on the Kenyan savannas.
Kalle Rovanperä starts Saturday’s special tests with a good setup. PDO
Kalle Rovanperä was at a great pace on the first proper driving day of the Safari rally, even though his role was to act as a so-called plow car. Toyota driver Rovanperä finished the day in second place, 22.8 seconds away from his teammate leading the race About Sébastien Ogier.
Rovanperä was the only driver in the top three of the World Championship points table who cleared Friday’s special tests without any problems. M-Sport by Ford Ott Tänak suffered a flat tire in the morning, due to which he lost more than two minutes.
Second in the World Championship Thierry Neuville dropped out of the game in the afternoon when the shock absorber failed in the Hyundai.
So you can say that the settings are very delicious when viewed from Rovanperä’s side.
– Ott is already behind and Thierry is outside, so this is not a bad situation. However, it is too early to think about it at this stage, Rovanperä coolly reminded after Friday’s special tests in the Naivasha maintenance area.
The equipment is hard
The Kenyan Safari Rally showed once again that it is the season’s toughest challenge for drivers and equipment. The rough sections of the road and wild animals that got lost on the road caused heart palpitations for several drivers on Friday.
Instead, Rovanperä stayed out of trouble.
– The loss of time was a little more than I would have liked. However, we drove well all the time, and there wasn’t much more to do, the reigning world champion said.
– Tomorrow should be a rougher day, or at least that’s how it seemed in the sheet music. The challenge is big, especially when it rains. You just have to try to survive. You have to think about the big picture and avoid problems. Usually it has worked here.
Yes, that water rain mentioned by Rovanperä. According to the latest forecasts, rain may fall in the Naivasha area on Saturday morning.
That would complicate things considerably.
– Normally I like the rain, but here it can rain so much that you can’t enjoy it anymore. Then you have to fight to keep the car on the road and get through the ditches, Rovanperä knew.
Toyota has a triple lead in the Safari Rally before Saturday, because Elfyn Evans is stuck in the last podium spot. Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi drives behind Evans in fourth.
On Saturday, the longest day of the competition is run in the Safari rally. The six special tests add up to a total of just over 150 kilometers.