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]

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 disqualification instead gave the Power Stage victory to Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja of the M-Sport Ford team.[9]

Background

Entry list

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

Itinerary

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

WRC Rally1

Classification

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

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

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

Classification

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

Championship standings

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

Classification

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

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

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

  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.
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
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Safari_Rally
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