Estonian WRC driver Ott Tänak scores valuable points from Kenya
The reigning world champion, Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota), won the third round of the World Rally Championship season in Kenya, finishing ahead of his teammate Takamoto Katsuta and Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux (M-Sport), who reached the podium for the second consecutive race. Ott Tänak (Hyundai), who had to retire mid-day on Friday, finished the rally in eighth place, earning 11 points for a strong performance on Sunday.
Tänak briefly rose to second place Sunday, after Esapekka Lappi (both Hyundai) was forced to drop out due to gearbox issues during the Loldia special stage, but piled into a rock 3.2 kilometers in to the next stage, which caused his car to hit a wall after which the Estonian driver's day was done.
Tires burst for everyone, with Elfyn Evans experiencing as many as four blowouts on Saturday, and Oliver Solberg, who was competing against Gus Greensmith in the WRC2 class, had tire failures on two consecutive stages on Friday. There were only a few instances on Friday and Saturday where all WRC drivers managed to reach the finish line with four intact tires or a car in one piece.
On Sunday, Tänak showed excellent pace, finishing the day in first place and earning seven points. In the Power Stage, the Hyundai trio of Neuville, Tänak, and Lappi achieved a one-two-three finish, meaning Tänak earned a total of 12 points from the Kenya WRC rally despite Friday's disappointment.
Overall standings of the World Rally Championship after three rallies:
- Thierry Neuville with 67 points
- Elfyn Evans with 61 points
- Adrien Fourmaux with 46 points
- Ott Tänak with 33 points
- Kalle Rovanperä with 31 points
- Takamoto Katsuta with 30 points
- Sebastien Ogier with 24 points
- Esapekka Lappi with 23 points.
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Editor: Anders Nõmm, Marcus Turovski
