WRC, Sportrik Media - Takamoto Katsuta is one stage away from securing the first FIA World Rally Championship victory of his career after leading Safari Rally Kenya 2026 ahead of the final Power Stage. The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver maintained a strong advantage after SS19 on the demanding Kenyan stages.
Following SS19 Oserengoni 2, Katsuta leads the rally by 42 seconds over Hyundai Motorsport driver Adrien Fourmaux. Fourmaux managed to reduce the gap by nearly 20 seconds during the second pass through Oserengoni, but Katsuta still retains enough margin to adopt a cautious approach heading into the rally-ending Power Stage.
“We will continue the same way. Nothing special. The loose rocks are my only concern, but there is no problem,” Katsuta said.
Behind the leading pair, Toyota’s young driver Sami Pajari remains firmly in third place overall and is on course for a second consecutive WRC podium finish. Pajari earlier received a 43-second time credit after being forced to drive in the dust of rivals on Saturday, although he remains nearly four minutes behind second place with no immediate pressure from behind.
“We are just coming through very cleanly,” Pajari explained.
Hyundai Motorsport driver Esapekka Lappi continues in fourth place overall after adopting a cautious approach on Sunday’s stages, similar to the drivers ahead. Meanwhile, an intense internal fight is unfolding in the Super Sunday classification between Toyota drivers Oliver Solberg and Sébastien Ogier.
Solberg attacked strongly on the rough Oserengoni stage and beat Ogier by 4.4 seconds, moving into the Super Sunday lead by just 0.8 seconds over his French team-mate.
“We are not here just to drive,” Solberg stated.
Elsewhere, Toyota’s Elfyn Evans holds third place in the Super Sunday classification ahead of Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville. Estonian driver Robert Virves is also on course for victory in the WRC2 category while running fifth overall heading into the rally’s final stage.
Safari Rally Kenya Standings After SS19
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | 3:10:09.4 |
| 2 | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +42.0 |
| 3 | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +4:32.1 |
| 4 | Esapekka Lappi | Hyundai | +6:21.7 |
| 5 | Robert Virves | Skoda | +11:27.7 |
| 6 | Gus Greensmith | Toyota | +11:59.2 |
| 7 | Fabrizio Zaldivar | Skoda | +12:13.9 |
| 8 | Andreas Mikkelsen | Skoda | +12:22.7 |
| 9 | Diego Dominguez | Toyota | +13:14.1 |
| 10 | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +17:08.5 |
| 11 | Sébastien Ogier | Toyota | +17:51.9 |
| 12 | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +20:09.1 |
Super Sunday Standings After SS19
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | 27:56.7 |
| 2 | Sébastien Ogier | Toyota | +0.8 |
| 3 | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +13.0 |
| 4 | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +19.5 |
| 5 | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +29.0 |
The Hell’s Gate Power Stage (SS20) will conclude Safari Rally Kenya 2026 and determine the final result of the rally as well as the distribution of additional championship points before the next round of the WRC season.
Baca Juga
Takamoto Katsuta memimpin Safari Rally Kenya 2026 setelah SS19 dan hanya satu stage dari kemenangan pertama WRC, dengan Adrien Fourmaux menekan di posisi kedua.
Adrien Fourmaux bertahan di Safari Rally Kenya 2026 setelah Hyundai memasang kompresor dan jet-wash untuk mengatasi overheating mobil i20 N Rally1.
Takamoto Katsuta memimpin Safari Rally Kenya 2026 setelah pembatalan stage SS16 Sleeping Warrior 2 menjelang hari terakhir reli.
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