Elfyn Evans just made history in Naivasha on Sunday.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver clinched his first-ever WRC Safari Rally title, becoming the first Brit to win the grueling Kenyan rally since Colin McRae back in 2002.
Evans, driving a GR Yaris Rally1 with co-driver Scott Martin, kept things under control from Friday’s penultimate stage all the way through Sunday.
He turned it up in the final Power Stage at Hell’s Gate to lock in the win with style and grab five bonus WRC points while he was at it.
“It’s hard to find conditions like this anywhere else. It’s a long season ahead, but we’re happy with how we’ve started,” said Evans after the victory.
Behind him, Hyundai’s Ott Tanak and reigning world champ Thierry Neuville finished second and third. It was a strong showing for the team.
Tanak looked like he was going to take it earlier in the rally, building a nearly 47-second lead. But mechanical issues on Friday knocked him down to third. Still, he left Kenya with the most stage wins at seven, even if the top step of the podium slipped away.
“In rallying, anything can happen. That’s the game,” said Tanak, the 2019 world champion.
Neuville’s comeback was wild. He had dropped to eighth by Friday evening but clawed his way back to third and secured his first-ever Safari Rally podium. He’s not done chasing that elusive win in Kenya.
“We gave it everything. We kept fighting and didn’t give up,” Neuville said.
“After four years of trying, the win still escapes us, but we’ll be back.”
Elsewhere, Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera, a two-time world champion and previous Safari Rally winner, had a rough final day.
His car suffered an auxiliary belt issue in the first stage on Sunday, forcing a shock retirement. Finnish teammate Sami Pajari impressed on his Safari Rally debut. He finished fourth overall after trading spots with Takamoto Katsuta.
Katsuta, who won four stages, lost power in the final Wolf Power Stage but still managed to finish. Gregoire Munster from Luxembourg brought home the first Ford M-Sport Puma in sixth.
In WRC2, British driver Gus Greensmith took the win after his main rival Oliver Solberg ran into trouble. Greensmith, driving a Skoda Fabia RS, finished seventh overall.
Jans Solans in a GR Yaris and Italy’s Fabrizio Zaldivar in a Fabia RS rounded out the WRC2 podium in eighth and ninth.
Kenya’s rally icon Carl “Flash” Tundo, a five-time winner of this event before it rejoined the WRC calendar, ended up 15th overall in his Ford Fiesta Rally2.
He was the top local finisher.
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