Oliver Solberg took an early lead in the Safari Rally Kenya, ahead of his Toyota World Rally Championship teammate Elfyn Evans, as extreme weather conditions caused chaos. After the first two stages, Solberg had a 33.3s advantage over Evans, while Sebastien Ogier, a two-time Safari winner, was 1m05.1s behind. The challenging opening stage, Camp Moran, was hit by heavy rain showers, making already muddy conditions even worse. Solberg, running second on the road, set a remarkable time that was 30s faster than Evans, who struggled with limited visibility due to a misted windscreen. The top positions saw the biggest time gaps, with almost four minutes separating the Rally1 crews. Toyota dominated the top five positions, with Takamoto Katsuta in fourth and Sami Pajari in fifth. Thierry Neuville, the top Hyundai driver, faced challenging conditions and ended the stage in sixth place. The rally comprised eight stages on Friday, covering a distance of 125 kilometers. Ogier claimed victory in stage two under much drier conditions, followed closely by Pajari and Katsuta. Solberg extended his lead by outpacing Evans by 3.3s in the stage. However, the event highlighted the tough conditions, with many Rally1 crews experiencing high temperature alerts, including all three Hyundai cars. Overall, the rally promised more exciting challenges ahead for the drivers and teams.
Top-Five Lockout: Oliver Solberg Leads Toyota in Weather-Struck Race
