Elfyn Evans sets the pace on Safari Rally opening stage

The Welshman posted the quickest time on the Kasarani stage, finishing 1.5 seconds ahead of his teammate Kalle Rovanperä and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who shared second place.

Hyundai’s Ott Tänak finished fourth on the opening stage ahead of his teammate Adrien Fourmaux, who shared the fifth fastest time with former M-Sport team-mate Grégoire Munster, with Josh McErlean seventh and Takamoto Katsuta eighth.

The drivers seemingly continued boycotting end-of-stage interviews in the wake of Fourmaux’s sanction by FIA for using “inappropriate language” in Rally Sweden.

Evans only commented on his performance in Welsh, while Neuville spoke in French. Rovanperä, on the other hand, gave a brief statement in English.

“No comments this weekend. Thanks to all the fans following us, but we will speak later.”

In WRC2, Fabrizio Zaldivar set an impressive benchmark that only Oliver Solberg could beat. Solberg was quickest by 1.5, with last year’s category winner Gus Greensmith – who Solberg raced against on the stage – only fifth fastest, behind Jan Solans and Kajetan Kajetanowicz.

The Kenyan top driver was Karan Patel placed eighth in the WRC2 category and 17th overall.

The second and final stage of the day will be the brand new 8.15km Mzabibu route, starting at 16:30 EAT.