Rovanperä beats Neuville in Safari Rally Kenya shakedown

Kalle Rovanperä stormed to the fastest time in Wednesday morning’s Safari Rally Kenya shakedown.

Rovanperä’s opening run through the rough and rocky 5.16km warm-up stage put his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 on top, clocking 1.6sec quicker than defending champion Thierry Neuville’s Hyundai i20 N Rally1, who improved on his final pass to snatch second. 

The shakedown allows drivers and their navigators to test the setup of their assembled machines and make changes if needed ahead of the final inspection before the race starts.

The Kenya Safari rally features 21 special stages covering a total of 384.86km. The Rally will finish on Sunday near Naivasha, some 100km north-west of the Kenyan capital.