WRC – Evans/Martin seize Safari Rally Kenya victory to hold record championship lead
2025 Safari Rally Kenya – Final report
Elfyn Evans tamed the wilds of Safari Rally Kenya to claim a landmark victory on Sunday and tighten his grip on the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) title race.
The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver, co-driven by Scott Martin, beat Hyundai rival Ott Tänak by 1min 9.9sec to secure his second win of the season. In doing so, he opened up the largest championship lead ever recorded after three rounds of a WRC campaign.
Evans arrived in Africa riding a wave of momentum following victory in Sweden and a runner-up finish at Rallye Monte-Carlo. Now, with a commanding 36-point advantage at the top of the drivers’ standings, the Welshman has carved out clear daylight between himself and his title rivals after the third of 14 rounds.
His latest success was built across a punishing four-day route that began in Nairobi on Thursday and ventured deep into Kenya’s unforgiving Great Rift Valley. And as ever, the Safari’s raw spectacle drew huge crowds – with police estimating over 250,000 fans lined the stages this year, up from 188,000 in 2024.
Evans moved into the lead late on Friday when early pacesetter Tänak was delayed by a broken driveshaft on his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 – and from there, he never looked back.
It was far from a trouble-free run, however. He overcame tyre deflations and spins earlier in the rally, then carefully managed an electrical issue throughout Sunday’s final leg. Tänak chipped away at the deficit across the closing stages, but Evans held firm to join a select group of British drivers to have conquered the Safari – following in the wheel tracks of legends Colin McRae and Richard Burns.
Tänak was joined on the podium by team-mate and reigning world champion Thierry Neuville, who finished 2min 22.1sec behind after a drama-filled weekend. The Belgian’s troubles began on Friday with a one-minute time penalty after a delayed gearbox change, followed by further penalties for a jump start and a late arrival as he worked to repair damage to his car’s cooling package on Saturday.
Despite the setbacks, Hyundai’s double podium marked its best-ever result on the Safari. In contrast – despite Evans’ victory – this was the first edition of the rally in which Toyota GAZOO Racing failed to place more than one car on the podium.
A Toyota 1-2 had looked likely until two-time world champion Kalle Rovanperä plummeted from second to fifth on Saturday afternoon with rear suspension damage. His misfortune continued into Sunday, when he retired due to an electrical issue – leaving him trailing team-mate Evans by 57 points in the championship fight.
Takamoto Katsuta was on course for a fourth-place finish after battling through multiple punctures and a bout of heat exhaustion, but damage sustained during a roll on the Wolf Power Stage prevented him from reaching the finish and promoted fellow Toyota driver Sami Pajari. Meanwhile, Grégoire Munster overcame a gearbox problem to finish fifth in his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1.
In seventh overall, Gus Greensmith won WRC2, finishing more than three minutes ahead of Jan Solans after the Spaniard rolled on SS18. Gentleman driver Jourdan Serderidis placed eighth overall in another Puma, with Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zaldivar completing the WRC2 podium in ninth as Josh McErlean rounded out the top 10.
WRC2 gold for Greensmith as Solans rolls on final day
Separated by just 5.8sec heading into Sunday’s five-stage decider, Greensmith and Solans were locked in a tense showdown – the Brit in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, the Spaniard aboard a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. Greensmith edged the opening test by four-tenths, but Solans hit back hard on the next stage and was 7.6sec up at the penultimate split before disaster struck.
The 27-year-old misjudged a left-hander and rolled, losing over three minutes and handing Greensmith, co-driven by Jonas Andersson, a clear run to the finish. The win marked Greensmith’s first WRC2 triumph since Safari Rally Kenya 12 months ago, where he famously battled through illness to take the spoils. It was also a double celebration for British rallying, with Welshman Elfyn Evans clinching outright victory in the headline Rally1 category.
Greensmith was one of four drivers to lead WRC2 during the punishing four-day contest and inherited the top spot on Saturday morning when Kajetan Kajetanowicz was thwarted by rear suspension damage. The Pole had earlier benefitted from Oliver Solberg’s misfortune – the Swede having dominated Friday before becoming beached in a section of deep fesh-fesh sand.
Despite the disappointment, Solans still had something to celebrate. He secured victory in the WRC2 Challenger category – open to drivers and co-drivers who have not previously won a WRC title in Rally2 machinery nor scored points for a top-level manufacturer.
Fau Zaldivar claimed a career-best WRC2 result of third aboard another Škoda. The Paraguayan trailed Solans by more than 18 minutes but retained a comfortable advantage over fourth-placed Daniel Chwist, despite retiring on Saturday’s final stage and restarting on Sunday.
Solberg recovered to complete the top five, moving into the lead of the championship and also taking home the FORUM8 WRC2 Most Stage Wins Award. Sixth place went to Kajetan
Kajetanowicz, while local hero Carl Tundo drove his Ford Fiesta R5 to victory in the WRC Masters Cup and seventh overall in WRC2.
Nikhil Sachania, who is paraplegic and drives in a modified Ford Fiesta Rally3 to suit his disability, claimed the win in the WRC3 class.
An all-new challenge awaits next, as the WRC heads to Rally Islas Canarias. The asphalt fixture – based on Gran Canaria – takes place from 24 – 27 April.
