By MACHARIA MWANGI and WRC
Action moved to the legendary Sleeping Warrior stage on the outskirts of Gilgil town on Saturday with the slippery affair and terrain testing, to the core, the resilience of the competing drivers.
Indeed, the Sleeping Warrior was, once again, woken up!
But Elfyn Evans mastered the conditions and is poised to extend his FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) lead after surviving a chaotic Saturday at this year’s Safari Rally Kenya, ending the penultimate leg with a hefty one minute, 57.4 seconds advantage.
He started Saturday with a slender 7.7 seconds buffer but immediately laid down a marker on the Sleeping Warrior opener where the topography proved a challenge even to the most experienced WRC drivers as fans enjoyed every bit of the action.
This is just what the doctor ordered!
The fans came to be entertained and they got pretty much what the doctor prescribed.
It was “boogie time” for the fast cars.
Nervy as it seemed, but the driver has mastered their art.
They have been in the rallying circles and gained valuable lesson and requisite know-how, relishing the moment. And the challenge.
The Sleeping Warrior stage never disappoints, always coming alive during the Safari Rally and is one of the favoured sections, especially by local and international spectators.
Just like in the times of yore, the waving by the rally admires was spontaneous, something akin to the famous Mexican wave.
Loyalty discerned depending on their country of origin.
It was a haven for the Kenyans and their East African neighbours – Uganda and Tanzania. They too waved their countries’ miniature flags.
The number of the Ugandans compared to previous years increased significantly, with numbers of the Kenyan hosts on the decrease, perhaps fuelled by the tough economic times and “Kasongo” belt-tightening measures.
Gallery Photos by : Nicholas Mugambi
Sleeping Warrior boasts of one of the highest spectator numbers in the rally, with booming business and carefree life among merrymakers driving the adrenalin, the vast natural vegetation offering the much needed solace, with a whiff of fresh air and an eye-catching green canopy.
Meanwhile, “fashionistas” made a mockery of the chilly weather: They opted not to keep warm, perhaps fuelled by the desire to look good in the “selfies” and trend on social media.
After all, social media is their thing… Tiktok, Instagram and, to an extent Facebook, has to be updated, the most opportune time being during such road trips out of town.
Fathom one managing to take a selfie with a rally car zooming by… it has to be archived… friends to have to savour the moment on the internet.
Traders have previously made a kill, but those who set up food selling joints lamented.
“It not what we expected, the business is slow… it is disappointing. People have been robbed off their purchasing power… it is what it is,” said a despairing hawker, Francis Kamau.
Back in Naivasha town, entertainment joints were packed to the rafters, majority of the revellers of the “Gen Z” persuasion, who, perhaps, had saved for a rainy day.
Being tipsy and getting “wild” appears to be on their wish-to-do list.
They literally had to paint the town red.
Some pooled resources and drove to the lakeside town in the latest mini buses, blowing vuvuzelas in the town centres, hogging attention and enjoying the disruptions.
Many are expected to party until wee hours.
The WRC event is an annual event.
Partying will only add to what they have always wanted to do.
The time is now…
There was also a hint of partying behind the wheels, at least for fortune-favoured Welshman Evans, once again as Africa’s legendary endurance test served up another brutal helping of carnage.
From bone-dry dust bowls to rain-soaked mudbaths, the day showcased the full spectrum of Safari extremes – and Evans was one of the few who stayed in tune.
Even with rear tyre damage near the end of the 26.97-kilometre test, he still extended his lead by 8.2 seconds over Toyota GAZOO Racing team-mate Kalle Rovanperä.
Rovanperä’s response unravelled swiftly.
A front-right tyre deflation five kilometres from the end of Elmenteita cost him 21.1 seconds, and worse followed at Soysambu, where a front-left puncture dropped him another 55.5 seconds.
By midday service, his deficit to Evans had ballooned to one minute, 32.5 seconds.
Then came the rain.
Conditions deteriorated on the repeated afternoon loop, and although Rovanperä clawed back 11.7 seconds from Evans on a sodden second pass of Sleeping Warrior, he arrived at the finish with a damaged rear suspension arm.
A makeshift roadside fix involving a ratchet strap kept him going, but with no choice but to back off through the final two stages, he dropped almost five minutes and slipped to fifth overall behind Ott Tänak, Thierry Neuville and Takamoto Katsuta.
Evans, who arrived in Kenya holding a 28-point championship lead, is now within touching distance of his first Safari Rally victory – and a significantly bolstered title advantage, should he make it through Sunday unscathed.
That’s no foregone conclusion.
His Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 sustained front-right damage after a moment in the final stage – a timely reminder of how the event can bite back.
The drama didn’t stop with Rovanperä.
In classic Safari fashion, nearly every Rally1 frontrunner faced some form of adversity.
Second-placed Tänak lost time with a deflated tyre early on, then grappled with visibility issues when the windscreen of his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 fogged up on SS12.
Even so, he carries a two minutes, 36.0 seconds cushion over team-mate Neuville into Sunday’s five-stage finale.
Neuville’s day was anything but straightforward.
Two punctures, a misted windscreen, and a misfiring engine late in the day all combined to slow his charge.
But he still gained a position on the final test when Katsuta was forced to stop and change a wheel – his third deflation of the day.
The Japanese driver has also been battling illness, making his pair of stage wins even more impressive.
Sami Pajari brought his Toyota home in a lonely sixth overall, 54.4 seconds behind Neuville but more than four minutes ahead of Grégoire Munster’s Ford Puma Rally1.
Munster began the day in 11th and even bagged a stage win on SS15.
Gus Greensmith stole the WRC2 lead from Jan Solans on the day’s final stage, snatching an overall eighth place in the process.
Just 5.8 seconds separate the pair going into Sunday, where five stages totalling almost 66 kilometres lie in wait with the second run of Hell’s Gate speed test (10.53km) which will serve as the Power Stage from 14:15 onwards.
Leading standings on Saturday after 16 of the 21 stages at WRC Safari Rally Kenya:
1. Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 3h38m39.3s;
2. Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m57.4s;
3. Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +4m33.4s;
4. Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +5m06.6s;
5. Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +6m06.0s;
6. Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +7m00.4s;
7. Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +11m02.0s;
8. Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +12m08.3s;
9. Jan Solans/Rodrigo Sanjuán (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +12m14.1s;
10. Jourdan Serderidis/Frédéric Miclotte (Ford Puma Rally1) +24m39.1s.
Sunday’s stage times:
SS 17: Mzabibu 2. (06:42hrs);
SS 18: Oserengoni 1. (07:53hrs);
SS 19: Hells Gate 1 Live TV. (09:05hrs);
SS 20: Oserengoni 2. (11:56hrs);
SS 21: Hells Gate 2 – Wolf Power Stage. (14:15hrs)
PHOTOS: NICHOLAS MUGAMBI
Macharia Mwangi is a seasoned journalist with more than 20 years’ experience. Previously, he worked with Nation Media Group for 19 years.
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