Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team are targeting further success on Safari Rally Kenya, the only African round in the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship which takes place from today until Sunday.
Since returning to the WRC calendar in 2021, the Safari has restored its reputation as one of motorsport’s toughest challenges, one that TGR-WRT have risen to with three consecutive victories, extending its total tally of wins on the event to 11. The results include historic back-to-back 1-2-3-4 results in 2022 and 2023.
This year the team are fielding a strong line-up with three drivers who each have multiple Safari podium finishes to their name. Double world champion Kalle Rovanperä won the event in 2022 and finished a close second last year, while Elfyn Evans, who is lying second in the WRC this season, has the chance to add his name to the winners’ list after finishing second and third in the last two editions. Kenya has been a happy hunting ground for Takamoto Katsuta too, as the rally is where he achieved his first two WRC podium finishes in 2021 and 2022.
For 2024, the Safari returns to a more traditional early season date, having been held in June since its WRC comeback. This move could coincide with greater rainfall, with the potential to turn usually dry and dusty tracks into deep mud: conditions that have previously been responsible for some of the most memorable images in WRC history.
A change to the regulations means teams are this year permitted to fit Rally1 cars with snorkel systems – another notable feature of the Safari Rally in the past – to help them navigate deep water or soft sand and prevent engines being starved of air. For the first gravel rally of the season, TGR-WRT will also introduce an updated suspension system aimed at improving performance and reliability.
Modifications to the route will make this the longest Safari Rally of the modern WRC era with almost 230 competitive miles.
Elfyn Evans said, “The Safari Rally is the most extreme event on the calendar so it’s always exciting.
“It’s more about the adventure than the pure thrill of driving but I’m looking forward to it as always. We’ve made a decent start to the year, taking good points from the first two rounds, but the Safari can be a bit of a lottery.
“We have to find that balance between pushing and looking after the car and see if we can be at the finish with good points, but that’s easier said than done. We’ve seen before that when it rains it can be very difficult, and we’re potentially looking at much more difficult conditions for a greater proportion of the rally and that could make things quite challenging.”