2023 Safari Rally

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 ← Previous event Next event →
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 WRT 3:30:42.5
Power Stage winner	Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja M-Sport Ford WRT 5:35.0
Support category results
WRC-2 winner	Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak 3:57:15.9
WRC-3 winner	Diego Dominguez Jr. Rogelio Peñate 4:37:57.1

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 unauthorized 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	Esapekka Lappi	Janne Ferm	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
6	Dani Sordo	Cándido Carrera	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
7	Pierre-Louis Loubet	Nicolas Gilsoul	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
8	Ott Tänak	Martin Järveoja	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
9	Jourdan Serderidis	Andy Malfoy	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	Driver, Co-driver	P
11	Thierry Neuville	Martijn Wydaeghe	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
17	Sébastien Ogier	Vincent Landais	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
18	Takamoto Katsuta	Aaron Johnston	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	Driver, Co-driver	P
33	Elfyn Evans	Scott Martin	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
69	Kalle Rovanperä	Jonne Halttunen	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	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	Maciej Szczepaniak	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
22	Grégoire Munster	Louis Louka	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta Rally2	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team	P
23	Martin Prokop	Zdeněk Jůrka	Martin Prokop	Ford Fiesta Rally2	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
24	Armin Kremer	Timo Gottschalk	Armin Kremer	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
25	Karan Patel	Tauseef Khan	Karan Patel	Ford Fiesta R5	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
26	Carl Tundo	Tim Jessop	Carl Tundo	Škoda Fabia R5	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
27	Daniel Chwist	Kamil Heller	Daniel Chwist	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
28	Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz	Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio	Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
29	George Vassilakis	Tom Krawszik	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta Rally2	Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team	P
30	Aakif Virani	Azhar Bhatti	Aakif Virani	Škoda Fabia R5	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
31	Piero Canobbio	Flavio Zanella	Piero Canobbio	Hyundai i20 R5	Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger/Masters Co-driver	—
32	Samman Singh Vohra	Alfir Khan	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	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

Other major entries

No.	Driver	Co-Driver	Entrant	Car	Tyre
20	Oliver Solberg	Elliott Edmondson	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

Overall Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders SD Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 3:57.3 — SS1 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 3:27.2 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak SS2 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 15:08.3 SS3 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 7:35.0 SS4 Munster / Louka Ford Fiesta Rally2 17:16.3 Munster / Louka SS5 Munster / Louka Ford Fiesta Rally2 15:04.4 SS6 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 7:29.0 SS7 Munster / Louka Ford Fiesta Rally2 17:12.2 SS8 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 19:48.5 SS9 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 9:21.1 SS10 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 19:40.7 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak SS11 Munster / Louka Ford Fiesta Rally2 18:56.0 Munster / Louka SS12 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 9:07.1 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak SS13 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 22:42.8 SS14 Munster / Louka Ford Fiesta Rally2 6:46.4 SS15 Munster / Louka Ford Fiesta Rally2 12:45.6 SS16 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 6:02.9 SS17 Chwist / Heller Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 6:39.1 SS18 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 13:25.0 SS19 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 6:14.6

Challenger Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders SD Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 3:57.3 — SS1 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 3:27.2 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak SS2 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 15:08.3 SS3 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 7:35.0 SS4 Munster / Louka Ford Fiesta Rally2 17:16.3 Munster / Louka SS5 Munster / Louka Ford Fiesta Rally2 15:04.4 SS6 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 7:29.0 SS7 Munster / Louka Ford Fiesta Rally2 17:12.2 SS8 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 19:48.5 SS9 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 9:21.1 SS10 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 19:40.7 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak SS11 Munster / Louka Ford Fiesta Rally2 18:56.0 Munster / Louka SS12 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 9:07.1 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak SS13 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 22:42.8 SS14 Munster / Louka Ford Fiesta Rally2 6:46.4 SS15 Munster / Louka Ford Fiesta Rally2 12:45.6 SS16 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 6:02.9 SS17 Chwist / Heller Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 6:39.1 SS18 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 13:25.0 SS19 Kajetanowicz / Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 6:14.6

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