Estonia's Ott Tänak leads the way after Thursday's racing at Rally Kenya
The 2025 World Rally Championship (WRC) season continues this week on the demanding roads of Kenya. After the first two speed tests on Thursday, Estonia's Ott Tänak (Hyundai) leads the field, 2.4 seconds ahead of closest rival Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota).
The first special stage at this year's WRC Safari Rally Kenya first event was won by World Championship leader Elfyn Evans (Toyota; 3 minutes 09.09 seconds). Behind the Welshman in joint second were Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) and Thierry Neuville (Hyundai; both +1.5). Ott Tänak was fourth after the first special stage, 2.2 seconds behind the overall leader.
Tänak set the fastest time in the second stage to take the overall lead. Katsuta has provided the strongest competition for the Estonian so far. The Japanese driver was ahead of Tänak at the halfway stage, before losing valuable seconds to finish in second (+1.1), with Gregoire Munster (M-Sport Ford; +2.3) in third.
Those same three hold the top spots in the overall standings after Thursday's racing with Katsuta 2.4 seconds behind Tänak and Munster lagging by 2.6 seconds. The top three are followed closely by last year's Safari Rally Kenya winner Kalle Rovanperä (+3.0).
Rally Kenya resumes on Friday at 6.28 a.m. Estonian time.
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Editor: Henrik Laever, Michael Cole
