Oliver Solberg stormed into an early lead at Safari Rally Kenya on Thursday afternoon, mastering treacherous conditions to end the opening day, consisting of just two stages, with a significant advantage.
Heavy rain transformed the opening stages near Naivasha into a muddy battleground, with the 24.35km Camp Moran test proving to be the undoing of many. Solberg, however, navigated the chaos with poise, guiding his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 to a lead of nearly half a minute over team-mate Elfyn Evans.
The Swede admitted the conditions were among the most unpredictable he had ever encountered. “It was an adventure already,” Solberg smiled at the finish. “I was a bit surprised by the gaps, but I just tried to find a rhythm and read the road. Sometimes it was bone dry, then all of a sudden, you’d find a mud-bath around the corner.”
Visibility woes for Evans
Elfyn Evans survived a particularly fraught run to hold second overall. The Welshman’s challenge was compounded when he ran out of screen wash midway through the stage. With mud coating his windscreen, Evans was left driving almost blind until a late rain shower fortunately helped clear his vision.
Nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier ended the day in third, more than a minute adrift of the lead. The Frenchman had correctly predicted that the volatile conditions would lead to massive time swings across the field.
Drama down the order
The drama wasn’t limited to the weather. Takamoto Katsuta lost his intercom before the opening stage, forcing co-driver Aaron Johnston to resort to old-school hand signals to deliver pace notes. Despite the communication breakdown, the pair finished the day in an impressive fourth, just 10.2s behind Ogier. Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari followed in fifth, a further minute back.
Hyundai’s radiator nightmare
It was a disastrous start for Hyundai Motorsport. All three i20 N Rally1 cars were hobbled by overheating issues as thick, Kenyan mud completely clogged their radiators during SS2.
“Obviously, these are incredibly tough conditions,” admitted a frustrated Thierry Neuville, who sits in sixth. “It’s hard to find the words to describe it. Our road position didn’t help, and we lost a lot of time. In the final stage, the car just overheated. I think all three Hyundais suffered the same—the radiators were just packed with mud.”
Impressive debuts
M-Sport Ford’s Jon Armstrong turned heads on his Rally1 gravel debut, ending the day in seventh. The Irishman summed up the brutal nature of SS1 as simply “muddy, muddy stuff.” His team-mate Josh McErlean struggled in 14th, hampered by rising water temperatures on the second stage.
Hyundai duo Adrien Fourmaux and Esapekka Lappi struggled through to eighth and ninth respectively, while Gus Greensmith rounded out the top 10. Greensmith also leads the WRC2 category, enjoying a dream debut in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
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WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2026 – O/A standings after SS2/20
| # | Drivers | Car | Time / Diff to 1st |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Solberg / Edmondson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 30:18.6 |
| 2. | Evans / Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +33.3 |
| 3. | Ogier / Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1:05.1 |
| 4. | Katsuta / Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1:15.3 |
| 5. | Pajari / Salminen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +2:06.4 |
| 6. | Neuville / Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +2:21.9 |
| 7. | Armstrong / Byrne | Ford Puma Rally1 | +2:32.2 |
| 8. | Fourmaux / Coria | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +2:38.1 |
| 9. | Lappi / Mälkönen | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +2:52.9 |
| 10. | Greensmith / Andersson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | +3:42.5 |
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
