Rovanpera extends lead at WRC Safari Rally

Kalle Rovanpera showed sheer class and pace on Saturday as he extended his lead at the top of the World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally standings to 40.3 seconds ahead of his Toyota teammates Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta.

Toyota completed a clean sweep of the top four positions with WRC Safari Rally defending champion Sebastian Ogier ending the day in fourth place.

Rovanpera was under huge pressure in the morning loop but showed composure to post good times without having to push too hard.

The flying Fin then put on an admirable performance in the afternoon loop after light showers muddied the last two stages - winning Elementaita 2 by a whopping 11.2 seconds ahead of a resurgent Thierry Neuville.

Kalle was amazed at how well he had performed. “I honestly don’t know how I did it. The conditions were very tricky today, especially on the second pass of Sleeping Warrior where the rains changed the dynamics of the competition,” Rovanpera reflected.

He further explained how he survived the muddy stages of Elementaita 2 and Sleeping Warrior 2 that claimed senior drivers including Hyundai's Thierry Neuville.

“There is no grip in the mud here and sometimes there is so much water that it's hard to get through. “I just realized straight away it was slippery and I tried to be a bit cleverer in places where I saw other drivers' lines going wide or something. Basically, I just tried to keep it clean. "I have not been feeling too good today. It's not with the stomach, but I feel I am quite tired. Hopefully tomorrow is better."

Rovanpera now holds a healthy lead of 40 seconds ahead of teammate Elfyn Evans ahead of tomorrow's finale. Evans maintained a steady run winning two stages - Soysambu 1 and 2. Another Toyota in the form of Takamoto Katsuta is third 1.25.6 behind the leader while defending champion Sebastian Ogier takes fourth position.

M-Sport world rally team had another day to forget after Gus Greensmith rolled his M-Sport Ford Puma car at Stage 8 and later retiring for the day due to cooling problems. Gus complained of safety Marshalls failing to assist him back to his footing after rolling, adding he was trapped for over three minutes.

"We were stuck in the car for three minutes because the door was jammed so I had to kick the windscreen out to be able to get out of the car,” Gus explained.

Adrien Fourmaux was the other M-Sport driver to retired after having mechanical problems with his Puma car. Drivers will tackle Oserian, Narasha and Hell's Gate twice tomorrow as the WRC Safari Rally comes to a close.

Toyota Team Principle Jari Matti Latvala has hinted they will be hoping that all drivers finish the rally safely with the hope of claiming their second consecutive Safari win.

“We want to have a sort of discussion that we want to see all the four cars finish the event on Sunday. I think that it is an important message that we have to speak with the drivers to remain cautious.”

Day Three leader board after 13 of 19 stages:

1. Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2:52:39.7

2. Elfyn Evans (Toyota Gr Yaris Rally 1) +40.3

3. Takamoto  Katsuta  (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1.25.6  

5. Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20 Rally1) +10:59.3

6. Oliver Solberg (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 ) +12:19.1

7. Craig Breen (Ford Puma Rally1) +18:56.1

8. J. Serderidis (Ford Puma Rally1) +25:45.6

9. K. Kajetanowicz (Fabia Evo) +27:34.7

10. Sebastien Loeb (Ford Puma Rally1) +33:01.0

11. Ott Tänak (Hyundai  i20 N Rally1) +40:20.8

13. Evans  Nzioka  (Lancer Evo X)      +54:46.1

14. Nikhil Sachania (Lancer Evo X) +1:07:58.2

15. Giancarlo Davite (Lancer Evo X) +1:16:31.5

16. Gus Greensmith (Ford Puma Rally1) +1:19:10.4

17. Adrien Fourmaux (Ford Puma Rally1) +1:19:29.8

18. Maxine Wahome (Ford Fiesta Rally3) +1:21:28.6

19. Hamza Anwar (Ford Fiesta Rally3) +1:36:23.7

20. Hamza Anwar (Ford Fiest  Rally  3) +1:49:33.2