Oliver Solberg and co driver Elliott Edmonson racing on a Toyota Yaris race through the Nawisa stage during Shakedown at the WRC Safari Rally Kenya on March 12, 2026.
Toyota Gazoo Racing crew of Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson dominated the opening day of the World Rally Championship Safari Rally after only 32 kilometres of serious racing through muddy slime, rain and rocky patches at Camp Moran in Naivasha yesterday.
They built a commanding advantage, finishing the Toyota GR Yaris with a 33-second lead at the end of Stage Two Mzabibu, while many of their opponents were left counting loses at the service park inside Wildlife Training and Research Institute in Naivasha, where their cars were covered in thick, muddy sludge.
The opening stage at Camp Moran measured only 24.35km, yet it proved long enough to turn some of the sophisticated Rally 1 machines into helpless “boats” in a sea of water and mud.
The usual pace notes became almost meaningless as the sky opened up in the afternoon, flooding the route and leaving drivers fighting to keep their cars from stalling.
Oliver Solberg and co driver Elliott Edmonson racing on a Toyota Yaris race through the Nawisa stage during Shakedown at the WRC Safari Rally Kenya on March 12, 2026.
If this chaotic start is any indication of what lies ahead in what could become the wettest Safari Rally in three decades, the remaining three days will be a true test of endurance, and the eventual winner may be an unexpected contender.
Elfyn Evans and co driver Scott Martin racing on a Toyota Yaris race through the Nawisa stage during Shakedown at the WRC Safari Rally Kenya on March 12, 2026.
After the madness at Camp Moran, the action settled into a more familiar rhythm on the 8km Mzabibu sector. Solberg added another three seconds over Elfyn Evans, while the defending champion stayed in third place, 1 minute 05.1 seconds behind. Takamoto Katsuta was fourth, 1 minute 15.3 seconds off the pace.
Kenyan duo of Karan Patel and Tauseef Khan, piloting a Škoda Fabia, were the highest placed local team, finishing 16th, 9 minutes 13.4 seconds behind Solberg after navigating a line that had already been torn up by the leaders.
They were followed by Samman Vohra and Drew Sturrock in another Škoda, 11 minutes 29.3 seconds adrift. Aakif Virani and Zahir Shah in a Skoda Fabia car, were 19th with Rubis Castrol entered Ford Fiesta of Jasmeet and Ravi Chana 23rd as at Mzabibu. KCB’s Nkil Sachania and Hamza Anwar of KICC had cleared Camp Moran by last night.
Sami Pajari Marko Salminen racing on a Toyota Yaris race through the Nawisa stage during Shakedown at the WRC Safari Rally Kenya on March 12, 2026.
Given yesterday’s torrential rain action, the rally’s conditions remain unpredictable today as cars head to Kedong and Ol Karia Geothermal, followed by a second visit to Camp Moran. Camp Moran lies only a few kilometres from the Kikopey meat eateries on the Nairobi–Nakuru highway. Last year’s dry, powdery stage left many cars stuck in sand, but this year the downpour turned the route into a quagmire that left crews struggling.
Solberg and Edmondson were relatively untouched, with a 30 seconds over team mates Elfyn Evans and Martin Scott. Solberg got additional three-second advantage in Mzabibu section, giving him hope of further widening the gap.
“I went a little wide once, but it’s all good. Elfyn missed a few poles, but overall, it was an enjoyable stage, somewhat easier than the first one,” Solberg said after Mzabibu stage.
“The stage was more straightforward, grip was mixed in places, but overall it felt decent,” added Evans, contrasting their experience with the chaos at Camp Moran.
Joshua McErlean and Eoin Treacy racing in a Hyundai i20.
“I’ve never been this filthy, even inside the car I’m covered in mud,” Robert Virves, co-driven by Viilo Jakko in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally 2, said. “The car was practically undrivable, sliding all over the throttle, visibility almost zero.”
The 2024 world champion Thierry Neuville and his co driver Martijn Wydaeghe in a Hyundai i20 N Rally 1 car, expressed relief that their car survived the ordeal.
“We needed a boat, a tank, anything but a rally car,” he joked. “I had to be ultra-cautious; you never know what’s waiting around a corner or in a braking zone. Nothing was working correctly, everything was cold. This rally is long and anything can happen, so we must manage it.”
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