Priority one drivers have singled out the addition of a new stage and subsequent increase in total distance as one of the challenges they will have to endure during this year’s Safari Rally.
Top level 1 drivers Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, Hyundai’s Adrien Formaux and Ford’s Josh McErlean however expressed their readiness to tackle the WRC Safari Rally Kenya set to rev off tommrow through to Sunday- March 20th-23rd.
This year’s route has been expanded to 384.86km making it the longest WRC Round. Takamoto Katsuta who finished second during the second round of the WRC in Sweden and Hyundai’s Adrien Formaux are bracing themselves for the challenge ahead….
‘’Stage 3 and other stages are new,and those stages are quite off the average speed is lower buts its some rocky place so I imagine that things will happen on stage three so for me things are going to be hard last year’’, Adrien Formaux
‘’This is my fifth time in Kenya and I am always looking forward to Safari Rally ,Podium is always my target but this year’s it’s a little bit challenging in terms of distance of the race has been increased and new stages. Last luckily year there wasn’t rain but this year looks like there higher chances of raining so there will be a lot of challenges’’ Takamoto Said.
‘’It was tough with shorter kilometers last year, so its going to be more tough and expect more drama we just need to manage the situation and we hope the cars reliability is even better than last year’s’’added Takamoto who has three,2021,22,24, podium finishes at the Safari Rally.
Toyota has won the previous 4 editions of Safari Rally, domination that they will be keen to extend in 2025.Toyota has a 4-man line up at the 2025 Safari Rally, perhaps in anticipation for continued stellar run.
‘’There’s a dedicated team that works hard to make sure that Toyota remains strong but also a bit of luck and Kenya is very special for Toyota and myself also there have been moments where we almost got caught up which could have locked us out but some luck helped us stay on the road’’ Kasuta remarked.
Meanwhile Hyundai has elected to revert to its older 2024 -specification i20 N Rally 1 machine for the Safari Rally.Hyundai debuted an upgraded WRC car at the 2025 opening round in Monte Carlo.
‘’It was a decision from the technical side just because we had little time on the seat and hasn’t been used in gravel they wanted to use the car from last year because of reliability.For me it’s a new car because I only drove the new one on gravel so its going to be interesting for me’’ Formaux said.
Formaux who finished third at the Safari Rally in 2024 and clinched his second podium finish in January in is motivated to repeat the feat in Kenya.
‘’I had good performance in Monte Carlo and Sweden I was able to fight for the win in both I had an issue in Sweden.But in Kenya my approach will be different, because its always not about perfomance’’Formaux reasoned
Meanwhile Ford M sport’s Josh McErlearn will be banking on his 2023 experience at the classic safari as he tackles the Safari Rally for the first time.
‘We did the classic Safari Rally in 2023 in a Porsche and the 911 porche is quite different from Puma one. Its a difficult event of the calendar I think you have to go with an open mind its more survival event ,you have to be patient, you have to go with a mindset of getting to the finish’’.
With the Safari famed for reliability than the performance, the drivers shared their approach, key to getting the car over the line with Adrien alluding to the rabbit and the turtle analogy.
‘’it’s a bit the rabbit and the turtle you know.For me the turtle can finish the rally easier than the rabbit so because if you go faster it can be tricky for the car in some places,so we have to push but we have to push in places where its smooth for the car,and in places where its rough we have to protect the car’’.
