Oliver Solberg charges ahead on opening day of Safari Rally Kenya
12th March 2026Toyota’s Oliver Solberg has stormed ahead by over half-a-minute of the rest of the field after the opening two stages of the World Rally Championship’s Safari Rally Kenya.
Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool
Toyota’s Swedish driver, Solberg, has taken the overnight rally lead after the opening two stages of the opening day of Rally Kenya, as the weather brought difficult conditions.
The young Swede currently heads a Toyota 1-2-3-4-5, with all of the Japanese entrants rounding out the top five after the opening two tests.
Kenya is notorious for its difficult conditions, and the African event lived up to its difficulties on the opening day.
Early, heavy rainshowers had turned the opening stage, Camp Moran, into a damp test with waterlogged sections. Additionally, crews had trouble with their windshields fogging up, which hindered their pace.
Solberg dominated the first stage of the Kenyan rally, with 30 seconds over his closest rival, teammate Elfyn Evans, with nine-time world champion Sebastien Ogier finishing over a minute behind.
Conditions improved for the second test, Mzabibu, and produced closer results. Ultimately won by Ogier, who pipped Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta to the stage win.
Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux had mechanical problems at the end of SS2, eventually turning off his engine and coasting to the control area. The Frenchman finished the stage 24 seconds off the pace, and sat eighth overall.
However, thanks to his dominant start to the rally, Solberg continues to lead the rally ahead of Evans and Ogier, in second and third respectively, as the WRC heads into the longest day of the weekend.
Day 1 results:
- Oliver Solberg, Toyota – 30m 18.6s
- Elfyn Evans, Toyota +33.3s
- Sebastien Ogier, Toyota +1m 5.1s
- Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota +1m 15.3s
- Sami Pajari, Toyota +2m 6.4s
- Thierry Neuville, Hyundai +2m 21.9s
- Jon Armstrong, M-Sport Ford +2m 32.2s
- Adrien Fourmaux, Hyundai +2m 38.1s
- Esapekka Lappi, Hyundai +2m 52.9s
- Gus Greensmith, WRC2 +3m 42.5s
M-Sport’s Joshua McErlean finished the opening day down in 14th, over four minutes off Solberg’s leading pace.
Adrian Fourmaux tops first run of Safari Rally Kenya shakedown
Read more WRC here:
- Adrian Fourmaux tops first run of Safari Rally Kenya shakedown
- 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
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