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wrc safari rally

WRC's most gruelling challenge, The Great Kenyan Experience.

#WRCSafariRally 2024 Winners

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Latest news and updates from the WRC Safari Rally 2024

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Tree Planting - Maintaining the serenity and continuity of the eco systems that make the Safari Rally Special

Rovanperä Triumphs in Dominant Safari Rally Victory

Kalle Rovanperä Maintains Commanding Lead as Safari Rally Nears Finale

Rovanperä Dominates Day Two of WRC Safari Rally

VROOOOM! Off We Go As President Ruto Flags Off The WRC Safari Rally

Drivers Gear Up For WRC Safari Rally With Thrilling Shakedown

Preparations In High Gear As WRC Safari Rally Kenya Draws Near

President Ruto Rallies Kenyans to attend WRC Safari Rally

Meet the drivers.

Meet the Kenyan Drivers participating in the Safari Rally 2024

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Škoda Fabia R5

Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo

Ford Fiesta R5

Ford Fiesta Rally3

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Catch up with the latest tweets, messages from the Fans and more. #WRCSafariRally #EasternaRally

Wed 27 Mar 2024

Rapid Rovanperä takes Safari shakedown spoils

Reigning WRC champion Kalle Rovanperä was the man to beat in Wednesday morning’s Safari Rally Kenya shakedown, edging Belgian rival Thierry Neuville by just two-tenths of a second.

The Finn enters this third round of the FIA World Rally Championship with a point to prove after he crashed from the lead of last month’s Rally Sweden early on day one. Back on gravel for the first time this season, Rovanperä was straight on the pace in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. Initially 0.9s slower than Ott Tänak after his first run of the Loldia warm-up test, Rovanperä clocked the fastest time on his second pass, securing the top spot on the leaderboard ahead of Neuville’s Hyundai i20 N. Esapekka Lappi, driving another Hyundai, ended 0.1s further back in third. “This is a rally where you normally don't expect too much before the weekend because you never know what's going to happen,” admitted Rovanperä, who maintains a cautious stance given the Safari Rally’s unpredictable nature. “That's my plan at the moment. I don't want to expect anything too much, I just want to have a good rally and we will see what happens.”

Tänak eventually trailed team-mate Lappi by a 1.3s ahead of fifth-placed Elfyn Evans. The Toyota star sits three points adrift of championship leader Neuville coming into this round, while M-Sport Ford hotshot Adrien Fourmaux recorded the sixth-best time in his Puma. Behind him were Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta and Safari debutant Grégoire Munster. WRC2 hopeful Gus Greensmith outpaced his Toksport team-mate Oliver Solberg by 1.2s, although Africa is already demonstrating its brutal punishing power with both Solberg and Nicolas Ciamin hitting trouble early in the session. Solberg was lucky to escape with just cosmetic damage to the front of his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 after overshooting a junction and riding up an embankment, but Ciamin was forced to pull over with damaged front suspension on his Hyundai i20 N Rally2.

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WRC - Rovanperä secures commanding victory at Safari Rally, Greensmith wins WRC2

2024 Safari Rally Kenya - Sunday

• World Rally Championship
• SEASON 2024
• Safari Rally Kenya

Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen became two-time winners of Safari Rally Kenya on Sunday afternoon, ending the gruelling African fixture with a 1m 37.8s victory margin having led since Friday morning.

In by far the most gruelling FIA World Rally Championship round so far this season, it was Rovanperä’s meticulous balance of both speed and maturity that ultimately secured his 12th career victory.

The Finn, along with his navigator Halttunen, built a lead of almost one minute after winning all of Friday’s rock-strewn stages around Lake Naivasha, then kept his nose clean to end Saturday two minutes clear as the chasing pack ran into mechanical troubles and tyre damage.

That buffer allowed the two-time WRC champion to drive for a finish in Sunday’s final leg, which culminated amid stunning scenery at Hell's Gate with Kenyan President William Ruto in attendance.

Takamoto Katstuta completed a Toyota GR Yaris 1-2 as the Japanese marque extended its manufacturers’ championship lead to four points over Hyundai Motorsport, while M-Sport Ford Puma hotshot Adrien Fourmaux bagged his second consecutive podium 47.3s behind.

“It’s always special to win here,” Rovanperä beamed. “Also, a legendary event for Toyota. We’ve always been so good here and that’s continuing. Like they say in Africa: the car in front is always a Toyota!*

“A big thanks to the team, everybody made a big effort to make the car work so well. I think me and Jonne did a good job, I don’t think you can have a better Safari Rally than we did. No issues, clever driving and I think it was a good effort.”

Elfyn Evans ended Friday in contention for a podium but a fraught Saturday, which saw the Welshman stop twice to carry out stage-side wheel changes, meant he finished over four minutes back from his team-mate Rovanperä in fourth overall. He remains second in the drivers’ championship behind leader Thierry Neuville, who trailed him by almost six minutes in fifth.

Neuville now heads Evans by six points but endured a troublesome week aboard his Hyundai i20 N. Fuel pressure problems on Saturday cost the Belgian several minutes and suspension damage on Sunday, inflicted by a rock on the racing line, added insult to injury. His colleagues, Esapekka Lappi and Ott Tänak fared worse.

Lappi’s problems included two broken gearboxes over the course of the week while Tänak could only climb back to eighth overall after his car sustained broken suspension on Friday.

Greensmith’s determination bears fruit with Safari WRC2 triumph

In 9th overall, Gus Greensmith, co-driven by Jonas Andersson, got his WRC2 campaign off to the perfect start after winning the championship’s premier support category by 1m 23.1 in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 for Toksport WRT.

The odds were stacked against the Briton early in the rally. He battled flu-like symptoms through Friday’s opening leg on rough gravel roads around Lake Naivasha but charged to a commanding lead of more than three minutes after his main rival Oliver Solberg haemorrhaged time with punctures.

Solberg fought back to finish second in his similar car, winning 11 of the rally’s 19 stages, but the deficit was ultimately too large to overcome. Greensmith was able to cruise through the closing kilometres, netting a mighty sixth-place overall result in the process.

Solberg posted the fastest time in the Wolf Power Stage, extending his lead in the championship while duly collecting the FORUM8 WRC2 Most Stage Wins Award. He finished more than seven minutes clear of third-placed Fabia man Kajetan Kajetanowicz, who also took the spoils in WRC2 Challenger.

Safari debutants Nicolas Ciamin and Charles Munster placed fourth and fifth respectively, both driving Hyundai i20 N Rally2 cars. Behind them was Daniel Chwist followed by local driver Carl Tundo, winner in the WRC Masters Cup contingent. As the sole finisher, Hamza Anwar secured maximum points in WRC3.

The WRC returns to asphalt for next month's Croatia Rally which takes place from 18 - 21 April. The event is based in capital city Zagreb.

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Safari Rally Kenya ready to test the WRC's greatest like no other

Part of this story

FIA World Rally Championship

The fia world rally championship puts drivers against some of the toughest conditions on the planet., safari rally kenya, teams will tackle rocky and rutted tracks alongside unpredictable weather, which can transform dry and dusty trails into muddy bogs – all against a backdrop of stunning scenery and exotic wildlife..

Sébastien Ogier

When sébastien ogier clinched a eighth world rally championship crown in november 2021, he joined an elite club of drivers..

Sébastien Loeb

French driver sébastien loeb's domination of the rally-driving world has earned him the nickname of le patron, or 'the boss'..

Elfyn Evans

A first win in 2017 saw elfyn evans become the first welsh driver to win rally gb on home soil, and he's continued racking up big results ever since..

Kalle Rovanperä

Kalle rovanperä is the record-breaking, youngest-ever wrc world champion who's following in the tracks of his legendary finnish compatriots..

The 20-year wait for the Safari Rally Kenya's return was worth it

© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

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These ribbons of dust can turn into rivers of water in minutes if rain hits

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WRC Safari Rally: Rovanpera stuns rivals to lead as Neuville suffers puncture

T wo-time world champion Rovanpera, making the second start of a partial WRC campaign, managed to tame an at times ill-handling GR Yaris to open up a 15.5s lead over Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi .

Ott Tanak headed to midday service in third [+16.8s] ahead of Toyota pair Takamoto Katsuta [+41.3s] and Elfyn Evans [+43.1s], with Neuville sixth [+48.0s] after a tyre drama. The top eight was completed by M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux [+1m14.6s] and Gregoire Munster [+2m23.8s.].

Hot and dry conditions kicked off Friday’s leg and while the weather was stable the majority of Rally1 drivers struggled to find the balance in their cars on the rough gravel in stage two [Loldia, 191.7km].

Rovanpera was among those particularly unhappy with his car, but the Finn was able to win the stage despite a left-rear tyre coming off the rim at the stage end. The world champion emerged from the dust 0.9s faster than Hyundai’s Lappi.

“I don’t want to say any really bad words, but it was horrible,” said Rovanpera, who moved into a 1.4s overall lead over Tanak. “The car is understeering so much, I don’t understand how we can do any time on this stage. We need to improve.”   

Lappi also suffered from understeer in his i20 N and was joined by team-mates Tanak and Neuville, who were also not best pleased with the handling of their cars.

“Genuinely low grip, somehow really struggling. It is very hard at the moment, the car is not working at all,” said Tanak, who was third fastest.

Overnight leader Neuville said the stage was a “reminder of how hard” the event will be, as he dropped 2.6s.      

His title rival Evans found the going to be much worse as the Welshman, struggling for balance, clocked a time 11.8s adrift of the pace. The Toyota driver did however suffer a slow puncture.

Fourmaux was seventh fastest in the first of the M-Sport Ford Pumas ahead of team-mate Gregoire Munster.  

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

The brutal nature of the Safari Rally was felt in stage three [Geothermal, 13.12km]. Championship leader Neuville clipped some loose rocks on the side of the road which resulted in a right-rear puncture.

Neuville dropped 19.9s and slipped to fifth overall, but he fared much better than WRC2 runner Oliver Solberg who was forced to change a wheel a kilometres into the test and lost 3m32s.  

The stage was topped by Rovanpera despite the Finn claiming that his car’s set up remained sub-optimal. He was 1.4s faster than Lappi, extending his overall rally lead over his countryman to 3.0s.

Tanak was third fastest ahead of Katsuta and Evans, the latter still struggling with the balance of his GR Yaris.

The mighty Kedong [31.50km] stage, run in a reverse direction this year, completed the morning and it was here where Rovanpera delivered a drive that stunned his rivals.

Rovanpera produced a blistering effort through the high-speed undulating test to clock a time 11.1s faster than nearest rival Tanak. The time pushed his lead out to 15.5s over Lappi. 

"This stage has been really nice every year. For sure I want to commit and even with the new notes,” said Rovanpera.

Lappi was 1.4s slower than Hyundai team-mate Tanak but there was more drama for the i20 N, driven by Neuville. The effects of the impact and resulting puncture in the previous test disabled his hybrid unit. The flailing rubber also ripped a chunk of bodywork from the right rear meaning dust was creeping into the car, enough for Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe to don goggles.

Neuville ceded 26.3s slipping to sixth overall, 4.9s behind Evans, while Fourmaux and Munster completed the top eight having opted for cautious drives to avoid the many hazards to sit in seventh.

An under-the-weather Gus Greensmith emerged from the loop with a sizeable 2m20.1s WRC2 lead after main rival Solberg suffered a second puncture of the morning in stage four. 

"What the hell can you do? Crazy high pressures. You take it easy in the rocky section and you still get a slow puncture. Without WRC tyres it's no fun. From now on it's flat out,” said a frustrated Solberg, who dropped to sixth in class.

The crews will tackle a second pass through the loop of stages this afternoon.

Watch: Safari Rally Kenya Thursday highlights

Stavropol Krai

• 2 Other destinations
• 3 Understand
• 6 Get around
• 11 Stay safe

Stavropol Krai is a region in Southern Russia , which borders Krasnodar Krai to the west, Rostov Oblast to the north, Kalmykia to the east, and all the republics of the North Caucasus to the south.

Cities [ edit ]

• 45.05 41.983333 1 Stavropol — this capital city is located in a particularly mountainous area of the region and was one of Russia's most important bases during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus ; former home to Mikhail Gorbachev and it has a particularly nice urban park
• 44.200833 43.1125 5 Mineralnye Vody — a health spa city named for its "Mineral Waters" at the edge of the; a common flight destination for visitors to the North Caucasus

Other destinations [ edit ]

Understand [ edit ].

Stavropol Krai contains a large number of Caucasian health spas/sanatoria, which Russians have visited for over 200 years to treat various ailments (and just to escape the northern climate of Moscow and Saint Petersburg . As such, the region has been home to many of Russia's most prominent figures, including writers such as A.S. Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov, whose works have embedded the Pyatigorsk region into the national consciousness. A great read for anyone visiting the region is Lermontov's short novel, A Hero of Our Time , which is set in various areas in the south of the Krai.

Stavropol Krai is also notable for its exceptionally diverse climactic and topographic diversity. The environments range from sand deserts, to mud flats, to steppe, to forest, to mountains, to permafrost!

Talk [ edit ]

Russian is the soup of the day.

Get in [ edit ]

By rail, most visitors will arrive at the regional transit hub of Stavropol .

Domestic flights to Stavropol ( STW  IATA )and to Mineralnye Vody ( MRV  IATA ) (which is closer to Mount Elbrus, the North Caucasus , and the health spas) are common around Russia.

Get around [ edit ]

See [ edit ].

• Mountain Beshtau Uranium Mines (RU) . 238 kilometers of mines inside Mount Beshtau 7 km from Pyatigorsk city. Closed in ~ 1971, but explored by diggers today. The site guides offers adventure descend into the mines with ropes and equipment. ( updated Mar 2019 )

Do [ edit ]

• Mountain climbing
• Quail hunting
• Sulphur baths

Eat [ edit ]

Drink [ edit ], stay safe [ edit ].

Because of its proximity to the conflict in Chechnya , the security situation is very poor in Stavropol Krai. While kidnappings are unlikely, there have been fairly regular bombings of public areas and official facilities in the southern cities and in Stavropol over the years. While a visitor is fairly unlikely to be victim to such terroristic attacks, the resulting crackdown has led to strict and unfortunately corrupt policing of the area — a visitor is quite likely to be harassed for bribes.

Stavropol Krai is the nearest “island of freedom” (in every sense) for residents of neighboring Chechnya and Ingushetia, who often visit this region for entertainment purposes (alcohol, nightclubs), therefore, it is not uncommon to run into them in entertainment establishments and at night on the streets. They are often armed with knives and pistols. To prevent conflicts, it is better to refrain from reacting to possible provocations on their part and simply walk away from them.

Learn [ edit ]

• Stavropol State University — located in Stavropol, owned in 1996
• North Caucasus Gumanitarium Technological University — main located in Stavropol, but have own filials in Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk and Ingushetia
• North Caucasus Gumanitarium Technological Institute;
• Stavropol State Medical Academy
• Stavropol State Agrarium University — one of the best agrarium university in Russia;
• Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University — one of the best linguistic university in Russia.Located in Pyatigorsk;
• Pyatigorsk State Technological University — located in Pyatigorsk
• Kislovodsk State Technological University — located in Kislovodsk

Connect [ edit ]

Mobile [ edit ].

In Stavropol krai there are three GSM operators (MTS, Beeline, Megafon), one 3G-UMTS operator (Beeline) and one CDMA operator on 800 MHz frequency (RusSDO) and they often have offers that give you a SIM card for free or at least very cheap. If you are planning to stay a while and to keep in touch with Stavropolean and other North-Caucasus, South-Russians people, then you should consider buying a local SIM card instead of going on roaming. If you buy a SIM card from a shop you'll need your passport for identification. It only takes five minutes to do the paperwork and it will cost less than $10.

Go next [ edit ]

Stavropol Krai is a common jumping off point for tourists venturing into the North Caucasus . Basically any city in the region can be reached via minibus or taxi from Mineralnye Vody.

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