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]
| 2023 Safari Rally Safari Rally Kenya 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Round 7 of 13 in the 2023 World Rally Championship
| |||
 The rally is featured with rocky and rutted tracks and unpredictable weather. | |||
| Host country |  Kenya | ||
| Rally base | Naivasha, Nakuru County | ||
| Dates run | 22 – 25 June 2023 | ||
| Start location | Kasarani, Nairobi | ||
| Finish location | Hell's Gate National Park, Naivasha | ||
| Stages | 19 (356.98 km; 221.82 miles)[1] | ||
| Stage surface | Gravel | ||
| Transport distance | 835.49 km (519.15 miles) | ||
| Overall distance | 1,192.47 km (740.97 miles) | ||
| Statistics | |||
| Crews registered | 33 | ||
| Crews | 31 at start, 20 at finish | ||
| Overall results | |||
| Overall winner |  Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT3:30:42.5 | ||
| Power Stage winner |  Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja M-Sport Ford WRT5:35.0 | ||
| Support category results | |||
| WRC-2 winner |  Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak3:57:15.9 | ||
| WRC-3 winner |  Diego Dominguez Jr. Rogelio Peñate4:37:57.1 | ||
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 disqualifcation instead gave the Power Stage victory to Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja of the M-Sport Ford team.[9]
Background edit
Entry list edit
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]
| No. | Driver | Co-Driver | Entrant | Car | Tyre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Diego Dominguez Jr.
|
Rogelio Peñate
|
Diego Dominguez Jr.
|
Ford Fiesta Rally3 | P |
| 35 | Hamza Anwar
|
Adnan Din
|
Rally Stars Program Kenya
|
Ford Fiesta Rally3 | P |
| 36 | Jeremiah Wahome
|
Victor Okundi
|
Jeremiah Wahome
|
Ford Fiesta Rally3 | P |
| 37 | McRae Kimathi
|
Mwangi Kioni
|
McRae Kimathi
|
Ford Fiesta Rally3 | P |
| 38 |  Jason Bailey
|
Jamie Willetts
|
Jason Bailey
|
Ford Fiesta Rally3 | P |
| No. | Driver | Co-Driver | Entrant | Car | Tyre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 |  Oliver Solberg
|
Elliott Edmondson
|
Oliver Solberg
|
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | P |
Itinerary edit
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 edit
WRC Rally1 edit
Classification edit
Special stages edit
Championship standings edit
| 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 edit
Classification edit
Special stages edit
Championship standings edit
| 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 edit
Classification edit
| 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 edit
| 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 edit
| 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 edit
- ^ a b c "Itinerary Safari Rally Kenya 2023". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
- ^ "WRC poewrs into 2023 with exciting new-look calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Rovanperä tightens title hold with skilled Safari win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Safari success propels Kajto into WRC2 lead". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Wahome creates WRC3 history in Kenya". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Breaking: Ogier captures Safari Rally Kenya triumph". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Cool Kajto secures Safari success in WRC2". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Safari joy for WRC3 winner Dominguez". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Neuville disqualified from Safari Rally Kenya". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Entry List Safari Rally Kenya 2023". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ "Safari Rally Kenya 2023 Entry List". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
External links edit
- Official website (in English)
- 2023 Safari Rally at eWRC-results.com
- 2023 Safari Rally at rally-maps.com (in English, German, and Polish)