Oliver Solberg will take a slender 1.0-second lead into the weekend at Safari Rally Kenya after a punishing Friday that tested crews with everything from mud and rutted tracks to mechanical dramas and even wildlife encounters.
The Swede began the day with a comfortable advantage in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 but saw it dramatically reduced as nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier mounted a determined afternoon charge to close within a single second by the overnight halt.
Friday’s action was disrupted from the outset when extreme conditions forced the cancellation of SS3 Camp Moran after deep rutting left sections inaccessible for medical and technical vehicles. Crews instead began the day on the 18.95-kilometer Loldia stage.
Solberg’s morning was not without drama. The 24-year-old overshot a right-hander into the bushes on the opening test of the day, costing around 10 seconds, before settling back into a measured rhythm through the remainder of the loop.
Conditions evolved again during the afternoon as the drying surface exposed sharp rocks and deep ruts across the second pass of the stages.
Ogier capitalised on the changing conditions, setting the fastest time on SS7 and SS9 to steadily chip away at Solberg’s advantage. The rally leader’s margin took a major hit on SS8 when he suffered a rear-right puncture, losing roughly 30 seconds as he nursed his Toyota through the stage.
By the time crews reached the final Mzabibu test, the gap between the pair had shrunk dramatically to a single second.
“I tried my best. It was really slippery again,” Solberg said. “We are back to zero now with Seb, so we will see what he does. I have had a fight with him before this year and I’m leading 1-0… we will go again tomorrow.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing dominated the top of the leaderboard behind the leading pair. Championship leader Elfyn Evans completed a 1-2-3 for the team in third place, 20.5 seconds behind Ogier, after a day spent managing balance issues with his GR Yaris.
Sami Pajari delivered one of the standout performances of the day to hold fourth overall. The Finn recovered from a near-roll on the morning’s Loldia stage to win both SS5 Geothermal and SS6 Kedong, before setting another fastest time on the closing SS10 despite carrying a 20-second penalty for checking out of midday service late.
Toyota looked set to occupy the top five places until misfortune struck Takamoto Katsuta on SS7. A double-front puncture forced the Japanese driver to nurse his car through the remaining stages without a spare tyre, dropping him to seventh overall behind Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux.
Neuville stalled under braking on SS4 and also had to repair a damaged radiator in the afternoon. The Belgian fought back to end the leg fifth overall, just 1.2 seconds ahead of teammate Fourmaux.
Esapekka Lappi holds eighth in his i20 N Rally1 after an eventful run that even included an unusual wildlife encounter. On SS9 the Finn slowed to first gear to follow a family of giraffes along the road for around 300 meters before continuing, later sliding into a tree near the stage finish.
The punishing Kenyan terrain also took its toll on M-Sport Ford. Josh McErlean retired on SS7 after striking an impact in a braking zone that burst a tire, damaged the sump guard and caused a terminal gearbox oil leak.
Team-mate Jon Armstrong also ran into trouble when a rear suspension arm broke on SS9. The Irishman and co-driver Shane Byrne completed a roadside repair before nursing their Puma Rally1 through the final stage to reach the overnight halt.
In WRC2, Robert Virves moved into the category lead after overhauling Gus Greensmith during the afternoon. Greensmith managed a gearbox issue and opted for caution, allowing Virves to build a 14.5sec advantage heading into Saturday.
