Adrien Fourmaux, Safari's first casualty as action heats up

The bubble of excitement within the capital and the country could almost be touched.

The Safari Rally is one of the iconic rallies in the world but its ability to test even the most skilled drivers in the world is what sets it apart from all other legs in the WRC calendar.

This year was no different, as it did not take long before it sent a gentle yet loud reminder to the rest of the grid that it had lost none of its streak of punishing both man and machine.

Hyundai driver Adrien Fourmaux was the first high level casualty as he was forced to abort the start of the second Mzabibu stage due to mechanical issues.

Locals were seen trying to push his car to line but that was too little too late as he sat out the stage dropping to bottom of the rally 1 standings.

Although there was no official report from his team on what could have transpired, his retirement has sent shockwaves across the grid on what to expect in the next three days.

Safari has always issued its fair share of punishment to drivers and this was an early reminder that the sleeping giant is not totally in the slumberland.

Not even the local drivers have the audacity to ignore the danger posed by the Safari Rally with veteran female race Pauline Sheghu laying bare her worry about Friday’s Camp Moran stage.

“I’m sure the guys behind the (inclusion) of the stage really wanted to punish us. We did recce and it’s just something else. There are loose rocks, ruts everywhere but we are happy because it’s a good challenge for us.”

Safari Rally defending champion Kalle Rovanpera in his post SS2 remarks said, “the day went well as planned, no big troubles and pretty good pace” underscoring the champion’s cautious approach to the Safari.

Indeed, the real Safari rally action zooms off this Friday as drivers tackle the 32.20km Camp Moran, Loldia and Geothermal stages.