Victory sees Elfyn Evans increase lead at top of WRC standings.
Elfyn scored his second successive WRC victory to take a stunning win on Safari Rally Kenya and further extend his overall lead at the head of the FIA World Rally Championship standings.
It was one of the toughest editions of the Safari Rally in the modern era but Elfyn mastered the challenging conditions to win on his Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team’s 100th WRC start – clinching a fifth consecutive victory for Toyota’s GR Yaris on the gruelling rally.
The conditions mean the best approach is always to balance speed with endurance and, from the outset, Elfyn maintained a strong pace without pushing the limits of his car too much.
He held fifth after Thursday’s two opening short stages, but put in a solid performance during Friday’s long day to end the day with a 7.7 second advantage, despite not winning any stages.
Saturday’s weather made things even more extreme with overnight rain turning sections of the stages into mud baths, while others were littered with rocks and soft fesh-fesh sand.
Elfyn doubled his lead with a stage win on Saturday’s opening test and, as other drivers faltered with a range of problems, he managed to stay out of trouble to hold nearly a two-minute lead going into the final day.
The final five stages on Sunday were also a challenge but Elfyn continued his clean drive, managed to avoid any major issues and took his first-ever Safari Rally victory by 1 minute 9 seconds. He now holds a 36-point lead as the championship heads to the smooth asphalt roads of Rally Islas Canarias from 24-27 April.
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