Adrian Fourmaux tops first run of Safari Rally Kenya shakedown
12th March 2026Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux tops the first run of shakedown at the World Rally Championship’s Safari Rally Kenya.
Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool
The teams and drivers got their first taste of gravel conditions during the event’s first shakedown run this morning, and it consisted of a 6.31km test through the African terrain.
It was Hyundai’s Fourmaux who topped the timing boards after the first leg of the stage, with the Frenchman securing a time of 4m 38.6s, which was an identical time to the championship leader, Toyota’s Elfyn Evans.
Toyota’s rally-winner, Oliver Solberg finished the first run in third place, just 0.4s off the pace of the leading drivers. The Swede was accompanied by his teammate, Sami Pajari, and Hyundai driver Esapekka Lappi, who rounded out the top five.
Toyota’s nine-time world champion, Sebastien Ogier, who returns after missing the Sweden rally last month, led the bottom five Rally1 contenders, ahead of teammate Takamoto Katsuta.
This left Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and M-Sport’s Jon Armstrong and Joshua McErlean, to complete the top 10, in eighth, ninth and 10th respectively.
As the shakedown continues to run, the teams and drivers will be preparing to dive straight into the rally later on today with the first pass of Camp Moran kicking off the action at 4:05pm (local).
Read more WRC here:
- Safari Rally Kenya Preview: A flashback to the past and Ogier’s return
- Itinerary: WRC 2026 Safari Rally Kenya
- Weather report: the latest forecast for Safari Rally Kenya
- Entry List: WRC 2026 Safari Rally Kenya
- Elfyn Evans wins Rally Sweden to lead back-to-back Toyota 1-2-3
- Evans on the cusp of first 2026 victory at Rally Sweden
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
