The 2023 Safari Rally (also known as the Safari Rally Kenya 2023) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held from 22 June to 25 June 2023.[2] It marked the seventy-first running of the Safari Rally, and was the seventh round of the 2023 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The event was based in Naivasha in the Nakuru County, and was contested over nineteen special stages covering a total competitive distance of 356.98 km (221.82 mi).[1]

2023 Safari Rally
Safari Rally Kenya 2023
Round 7 of 13 in the 2023 World Rally Championship
← Previous eventNext event →
The rally is featured with rocky and rutted tracks and unpredictable weather.
Host country Kenya
Rally baseNaivasha, Nakuru County
Dates run22 – 25 June 2023
Start locationKasarani, Nairobi
Finish locationHell's Gate National Park, Naivasha
Stages19 (356.98 km; 221.82 miles)[1]
Stage surfaceGravel
Transport distance835.49 km (519.15 miles)
Overall distance1,192.47 km (740.97 miles)
Statistics
Crews registered33
Crews31 at start, 20 at finish
Overall results
Overall winnerFrance Sébastien Ogier
France Vincent Landais
Japan Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
3:30:42.5
Power Stage winnerEstonia Ott Tänak
Estonia Martin Järveoja
United Kingdom M-Sport Ford WRT
5:35.0
Support category results
WRC-2 winnerPoland Kajetan Kajetanowicz
Poland Maciej Szczepaniak
3:57:15.9
WRC-3 winnerParaguay Diego Dominguez Jr.
Spain Rogelio Peñate
4:37:57.1

Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the defending rally winners. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the defending manufacturer's winners.[3] Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak were the defending rally winners in the WRC-2 category.[4] Maxine Wahome and Murage Waigwa were the defending rally winners in the WRC-3 category.[5]

Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais won the rally. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, successfully defended their manufacturer's title.[6] Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak successfully defended their victory in the World Rally Championship-2 category.[7] Diego Dominguez Jr. and Rogelio Peñate won the World Rally Championship-3 category.[8]

The Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT crew of Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe was disqualified from the rally post-event for unathorized reconnaissance of stages, stripping them both of their eighth place finish and of the victory in the Power Stage. The disqualifcation instead gave the Power Stage victory to Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja of the M-Sport Ford team.[9]

Background

edit

Entry list

edit

The following crews entered into the rally. The event was opened to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories, the World Rally Championship-2, World Rally Championship-3 and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Ten entered under Rally1 regulations, as were eleven Rally2 crews in the World Rally Championship-2 and five Rally3 crew in the World Rally Championship-3.[10][11]

Rally1 entries competing in the World Rally Championship
No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Championship eligibility Tyre
4   Esapekka Lappi   Janne Ferm   Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer P
6   Dani Sordo   Cándido Carrera   Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer P
7   Pierre-Louis Loubet   Nicolas Gilsoul   M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer P
8   Ott Tänak   Martin Järveoja   M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer P
9   Jourdan Serderidis   Andy Malfoy   M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Driver, Co-driver P
11   Thierry Neuville   Martijn Wydaeghe   Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer P
17   Sébastien Ogier   Vincent Landais   Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer P
18   Takamoto Katsuta   Aaron Johnston   Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver P
33   Elfyn Evans   Scott Martin   Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer P
69   Kalle Rovanperä   Jonne Halttunen   Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer P
Rally2 entries competing in the World Rally Championship-2
No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Championship eligibility Tyre
21   Kajetan Kajetanowicz   Maciej Szczepaniak   Kajetan Kajetanowicz Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver P
22   Grégoire Munster   Louis Louka   M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team P
23   Martin Prokop   Zdeněk Jůrka   Martin Prokop Ford Fiesta Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver P
24   Armin Kremer   Timo Gottschalk   Armin Kremer Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver P
25   Karan Patel   Tauseef Khan   Karan Patel Ford Fiesta R5 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver P
26   Carl Tundo   Tim Jessop   Carl Tundo Škoda Fabia R5 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver P
27   Daniel Chwist   Kamil Heller   Daniel Chwist Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver P
28   Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz   Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio   Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver P
29   George Vassilakis   Tom Krawszik   M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team P
30   Aakif Virani   Azhar Bhatti   Aakif Virani Škoda Fabia R5 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver P
31   Piero Canobbio   Flavio Zanella   Piero Canobbio Hyundai i20 R5 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger/Masters Co-driver
32   Samman Singh Vohra   Alfir Khan   Samman Singh Vohra Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver P
Rally3 entries competing in the World Rally Championship-3
No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre
34   Diego Dominguez Jr.   Rogelio Peñate   Diego Dominguez Jr. Ford Fiesta Rally3 P
35   Hamza Anwar   Adnan Din   Rally Stars Program Kenya Ford Fiesta Rally3 P
36   Jeremiah Wahome   Victor Okundi   Jeremiah Wahome Ford Fiesta Rally3 P
37   McRae Kimathi   Mwangi Kioni   McRae Kimathi Ford Fiesta Rally3 P
38   Jason Bailey   Jamie Willetts   Jason Bailey Ford Fiesta Rally3 P
Other major entries
No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre
20   Oliver Solberg   Elliott Edmondson   Oliver Solberg Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo P

Itinerary

edit

All dates and times are EAT (UTC+3).

Date No. Time span Stage name Distance
21 June After 10:01 Loldia [Shakedown] 5.40 km
22 June SS1 After 14:05 Super Special Kasarani 4.84 km
23 June   7:00 – 7:15 Service A, KWS Naivasha
SS2 After 8:00 Loldia 1 19.17 km
SS3 After 9:18 Geothermal 1 13.12 km
SS4 After 10:11 Kedong 1 30.48 km
  11:14 – 11:44 Regroup, KWS Naivasha
  11:44 – 12:24 Service B, KWS Naivasha
SS5 After 13:09 Loldia 2 19.17 km
SS6 After 14:27 Geothermal 2 13.12 km
SS7 After 15:20 Kedong 2 30.48 km
  16:33 – 17:18 Flexi Service C, KWS Naivasha
24 June SS8 After 8:01 Soysambu 1 19.17 km
SS9 After 9:05 Elmenteita 1 15.08 km
SS10 After 10:03 Sleeping Warrior 1 31.04 km
  11:29 – 11:55 Regroup, KWS Naivasha
  11:55 – 12:35 Service D, KWS Naivasha
SS11 After 14:01 Soysambu 2 19.17 km
SS12 After 15:05 Elmenteita 2 15.08 km
SS13 After 16:03 Sleeping Warrior 2 31.04 km
  17:39 – 18:24 Flexi Service E, KWS Naivasha
25 June SS14 After 6:55 Malewa 1 9.00 km
SS15 After 7:51 Oserian 1 18.33 km
SS16 After 9:05 Hell's Gate 1 10.53 km
  10:12 – 10:22 Regroup, KWS Naivasha
  10:22 – 10:37 Service F, KWS Naivasha
SS17 After 11:12 Malewa 2 9.00 km
SS18 After 12:08 Oserian 2 18.33 km
  13:16 – 14:07 Regroup, KWS Naivasha
SS19 After 14:15 Hell's Gate 2 [Power Stage] 10.53 km
  After 16:00 Podium ceremony, KWS Naivasha
Source:[1]

Report

edit

WRC Rally1

edit

Classification

edit
Position No. Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Difference Points
Event Class Event Stage
1 1 17 Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:30:42.5 0.0 25 3
2 2 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:30:49.2 +6.7 18 4
3 3 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:33:41.0 +2:58.5 15 1
4 4 18 Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:34:06.3 +3:23.8 12 0
5 5 6 Dani Sordo Cándido Carrera Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:35:47.9 +5:05.4 10 0
6 6 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 3:39:56.9 +9:14.4 8 5
7 7 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Nicolas Gilsoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 3:46:58.2 +16:15.7 6 0
12 8 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 4:12:57.4 +42:14.9 0 2
Retired SS12 9 Jourdan Serderidis Andy Malfoy M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Engine 0 0
Disqualified 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Reconnaissance breach 0 0

Special stages

edit
Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders
SD Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:32.4
SS1 Tänak / Järveoja Ford Puma Rally1 3:14.3 Tänak / Järveoja
SS2 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 13:50.3 Ogier / Landais
SS3 Lappi / Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 6:49.7
SS4 Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 14:52.4
SS5 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 13:50.2
SS6 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 6:46.5
SS7 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 15:04.6
SS8 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 17:30.0
SS9 Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 8:25.2
SS10 Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 17:57.7
SS11 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 17:23.4
SS12 Katsuta / Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 8:20.6
SS13 Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 19:07.7
SS14 Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 6:05.1
SS15 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 11:15.9
SS16 Tänak / Järveoja Ford Puma Rally1 5:29.7
SS17 Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 6:02.6
SS18 Katsuta / Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 11:53.6
SS19 Tänak / Järveoja Ford Puma Rally1 5:35.0

Championship standings

edit
Pos. Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships Manufacturers' championships
Move Driver Points Move Co-driver Points Move Manufacturer Points
1   Kalle Rovanperä 140   Jonne Halttunen 140   Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 285
2   2 Elfyn Evans 99   2 Scott Martin 99   Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 237
3   2 Sébastien Ogier 98   2 Vincent Landais 98   M-Sport Ford WRT 175
4   1 Ott Tänak 98   1 Martin Järveoja 98
5   3 Thierry Neuville 93   3 Martijn Wydaeghe 93

WRC-2 Rally2

edit

Classification

edit
Position No. Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Difference Points
Event Class Class Stage Event
8 1 21 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak Kajetan Kajetanowicz Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 3:57:15.9 0.0 25 3 4
10 2 23 Martin Prokop Zdeněk Jůrka Martin Prokop Ford Fiesta Rally2 4:08:43.6 +11:27.7 18 2 1
11 3 26 Carl Tundo Tim Jessop Carl Tundo Škoda Fabia R5 4:11:38.6 +14:22.7 15 0 0
13 4 24 Armin Kremer Timo Gottschalk Armin Kremer Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 4:14:40.8 +17:24.9 12 1 0
15 5 27 Daniel Chwist Kamil Heller Daniel Chwist Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 4:52:52.1 +55:36.2 10 0 0
16 6 32 Samman Singh Vohra Alfir Khan Samman Singh Vohra Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 5:23:48.3 +1:26:32.4 8 0 0
Retired SS19 30 Aakif Virani Azhar Bhatti Aakif Virani Škoda Fabia R5 Withdrawn 0 0 0
Retired SS17 22 Grégoire Munster Louis Louka M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 Fire 0 0 0
Retired SS17 25 Karan Patel Tauseef Khan Karan Patel Ford Fiesta R5 Withdrawn 0 0 0
Retired SS13 29 George Vassilakis Tom Krawszik M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 Accident 0 0 0
Retired SS10 28 Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Withdrawn 0 0 0
Did not start 31 Piero Canobbio Flavio Zanella Piero Canobbio Hyundai i20 R5 Withdrawn 0 0 0

Special stages

edit

Championship standings

edit
Pos. Open Drivers' championships Open Co-drivers' championships Teams' championships Challenger Drivers' championships Challenger Co-drivers' championships
Move Driver Points Move Co-driver Points Move Manufacturer Points Move Manufacturer Points Move Driver Points
1   Yohan Rossel 77   Arnaud Dunand 77   M-Sport Ford WRT 91   1 Kajetan Kajetanowicz 75   1 Maciej Szczepaniak 75
2   Oliver Solberg 64   Elliott Edmondson 64   Toksport WRT 80   1 Nikolay Gryazin 50   1 Konstantin Aleksandrov 50
3   Gus Greensmith 62   Jonas Andersson 62   Hyundai Motorsport N 73   Marco Bulacia 50   Enni Mälkönen 43
4   5 Kajetan Kajetanowicz 55   Torstein Eriksen 61   Toksport WRT 3 68   5 Martin Prokop 44   Diego Vallejo 40
5   1 Emil Lindholm 44   4 Maciej Szczepaniak 55   Toksport WRT 2 65   1 Sami Pajari 43   Borja Rozada 33

WRC-3 Rally3

edit

Classification

edit
Position No. Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Difference Points
Event Class
14 1 34 Diego Dominguez Jr. Rogelio Peñate Diego Dominguez Jr. Ford Fiesta Rally3 4:37:57.1 0.0 25
17 2 38 Jason Bailey Jamie Willetts Jason Bailey Ford Fiesta Rally3 5:33:05.9 +55:08.8 18
18 3 37 McRae Kimathi Mwangi Kioni McRae Kimathi Ford Fiesta Rally3 5:43:54.7 +1:05:57.6 15
Retired SS14 36 Jeremiah Wahome Victor Okundi Jeremiah Wahome Ford Fiesta Rally3 Withdrawn 0
Retired SS8 35 Hamza Anwar Adnan Din Rally Stars Program Kenya Ford Fiesta Rally3 Withdrawn 0

Special stages

edit
Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders
SD Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 4:30.0
SS1 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 3:40.6 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate
SS2 Anwar / Din Ford Fiesta Rally3 16:40.3
SS3 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 8:19.6
SS4 Anwar / Din Ford Fiesta Rally3 18:43.7 Anwar / Din
SS5 Anwar / Din Ford Fiesta Rally3 16:31.4
SS6 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 8:10.0
SS7 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 19:03.6 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate
SS8 Bailey / Willetts Ford Fiesta Rally3 22:47.8
SS9 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 11:14.7
SS10 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 24:12.5
SS11 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 23:52.8
SS12 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 11:41.5
SS13 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 26:56.8
SS14 Bailey / Willetts Ford Fiesta Rally3 8:00.8
SS15 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 15:11.6
SS16 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 7:19.5
SS17 Bailey / Willetts Ford Fiesta Rally3 7:58.3
SS18 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 16:32.9
SS19 Dominguez Jr. / Peñate Ford Fiesta Rally3 7:46.1

Championship standings

edit
Pos. Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships
Move Driver Points Move Co-driver Points
1   Roope Korhonen 75   Anssi Viinikka 75
2   1 Diego Dominguez Jr. 62   1 Rogelio Peñate 62
3   1 William Creighton 46   1 Liam Regan 46
4   6 Jason Bailey 36   Loïc Dumont 36
5   1 Tom Rensonnet 36   Conor Mohan 31

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Itinerary Safari Rally Kenya 2023". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  2. ^ "WRC poewrs into 2023 with exciting new-look calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Rovanperä tightens title hold with skilled Safari win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Safari success propels Kajto into WRC2 lead". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Wahome creates WRC3 history in Kenya". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Breaking: Ogier captures Safari Rally Kenya triumph". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Cool Kajto secures Safari success in WRC2". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Safari joy for WRC3 winner Dominguez". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Neuville disqualified from Safari Rally Kenya". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Entry List Safari Rally Kenya 2023". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Safari Rally Kenya 2023 Entry List". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
edit
Previous rally:
2023 Rally Italia Sardegna
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Next rally:
2023 Rally Estonia
Previous rally:
2022 Safari Rally
2023 Safari Rally Next rally:
2024 Safari Rally