Japanese driver Katsuta Takamoto, navigated by Irishman Aaron Johnson, started the WRC Safari Rally on a wrong note after a nasty roll at the 5.4-kilometre Loldia Shakedown stage Wednesday.
But they escaped unhurt as their Toyota Yaris GR team-mate, world champion Kalle Rovanpera, stamped his authority with an exemplary drive through the demanding, dusty route in forest cover on one side teeming with bufalloes and on the other with rally fans led by President William Ruto.
Kenyans Karan Patel and Carl Tundo gave a bold display against the best in the world, finishing the day in 13th and 17th positions, respectively, in the second tier Rally2 category with Hamza Anwar leading the Rally3 class after a stiff and very close result ahead of McRae Kimathi.
Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta, navigated by Aaron Johnson in a Toyota Yaris car, roll during Shakedown at Lodia stage of the 2023 WRC Safari Rally on June 21, 2023.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
Their teammate, Jeremiah Wahome, dropped to 27th after suffering mechanical gremlins.
The Shakedown is the only opportunity for drivers to test their rally machines in a timed stage at rally speeds with some taking the best of three loops for the best results.
Rovanpera achieved his in the second loop when he stopped the clock at three minutes 32.7 seconds, only 1.5 seconds ahead of the 2019 world champion, Estonian Ott Tanak navigated by Martin Jarveoja in a Ford Puma Hybrid.
Despite the roll, Takamoto still managed to set the sixth fastest time of the day and is expected to start the day today in eighth place.
The final Shakedown results don't count but give the winners the psychological advantage ahead of the competition proper which will be at the Kasarani Super Special Stage from 2:00pm Thursday.
Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta, navigated by Aaron Johnson in a Toyota Yaris car, roll during Shakedown at Lodia stage of the 2023 WRC Safari Rally on June 21, 2023.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
“We had quite a good feeling to be honest,” early pacemaker Rovanpera said.
“Everything seems to be as clear as it can be before a Safari Rally. Hopefully, we can have another strong weekend and score more good points for the championship,” said Rovanpera who leads Belgian Thierry Neuvile, fourth with 25 points in the championship standings.
The Safari Rally proper gets underway Thursday followed by three days of competition at the Kedong/Loldia/Geothermal stages Friday.
The rally action will continue on Saturday in the killer legs of Soysambu, Elmentaita and the rocky Sleeping Warrior.
Neuville won the last round - Rally Italia Sardegna in Sardinia, Italy - three weeks ago under similar Safari Rally conditions where top drivers like Ford’s Ott Tanak and Toyota’s Sebastian Ogier displayed superb form before being knocked out.
They showed promise, and should the same hold this week, then the world is going to witness yest another great Safari in which Toyota are the favourites following their results in the last two editions as champions.
But Ford and Hyundai have always been close. The Safari concludes concludes on Sunday at Hell’s Gate under the famous cliff where they will be recieved by Masai dancers in the presence of President William Ruto.
Rovanpera, who headed a Toyota 1-2-3-4 finish here last year, propelled his GR Yaris to the benchmark time through the 5.40km Loldia warm-up stage by the picturesque Lake Naivasha.
He set the pace on his second and penultimate run, shading M-Sport Ford Puma rival Tanak by 1.5 seconds in the process.
His Toyota Gazoo Racing team has won every single Safari edition since it returned to the WRC calendar in 2021.
Toyota part-timer Ogier topped the timesheets after the opening pass but he slipped to third by the end of the session.
The Frenchman, victor here in 2021, trailed Tanak by seven-tenths of a second.
Just 0.2 seconds behind in fourth was Neuville, Hyundai’s best-placed driver.
He and i20 N colleague Dani Sordo sandwiched fifth and six-placed Toyota drivers Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta. Katsuta’s mechanics were in for a busy afternoon, however, after the Japanese driver’s roll late in the session.
He and co-driver Johnston were unharmed after coming unstuck on a right-hander which followed a jump.
Kenya debutante Esapekka Lappi faced a challenging morning when a broken prop-shaft sidelined his Hyundai during the first shakedown run.
Pierre-Louis Loubet headed WRC2 pacesetter Oliver Solberg while Greek privateer Jourdan Serderidis completed the top 10.
