Estonian Ott Tänak took top honours in the opening of the rally, SSS1 to get his quest for a maiden African victory off to a flying start on the opening stage.
Reigning World Rally Championship (WRC) winnner Kalle Rovanpera is bracing up for a tough outing as he starts his first full day of the 2023 Safari Rally today, Friday, June 23.
The Fin returned to this year’s edition of the event with the hope of defending his 2022 Safari Rally title and he will be hoping to upset his opponents. Today’s route will be in Loldia and will cover 19.17km.
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The rally is set to kick off on Thursday morning at the Uhuru Park Grounds driving through the Kasarani Spectator Stage and finally making its way to Naivasha.
“Let’s get this Safari adventure started! The first full day of rallying action gets underway shortly with SS2 ‘Loldia’.
"It’s going to be a tough day and it’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen, but we are ready to give our best,” Rovanpera posted on his Twitter account shortly before getting into action.
After covering a few kilometers of the rally, he tweeted again saying: “This one downhill section which is really narrow with lots of loose stuff was tricky and I'm sure it will clean.
"I was even struggling to make the hairpins there, but otherwise safe and clean run through!”
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He added that it was a great decision to bring back the Safari Rally and he noted that it unites people in a unique way.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Estonian Ott Tänak took top honours in the opening of the rally, SSS1 to get his quest for a maiden African victory off to a flying start on the opening stage.
The 2019 World Rally Champion beat Frenchman Sebastien Ogier by a mere 0.1 seconds through the scintillating 4.84 km speed test at the Moi International Sports Centre.
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Rovanpera came through the twin-track test 2.4 seconds behind the leader, incidentally on the same stage where he almost rolled his GR Yaris Rally1 hybrid marque last year.
Tänak is looking to break Toyota’s stranglehold of success in Kenya where his bid for the coveted Safari title remains elusive on two attempts since his 2021 debut.