Solberg heads Safari Rally Kenya after a chaotic Saturday morning
14th March 2026Toyota’s Oliver Solberg remains the Safari Rally Kenya leader in the World Rally Championship after his teammate, Elfyn Evans, retired for the day.
Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool
Solberg stands at the midday service on Saturday as the reigning rally leader, with 42.6 seconds in hand over teammate and rally rival, Sebastien Ogier. However, Saturday morning’s loop was a chaotic fight of endurance as the championship leader, Elfyn Evans, was forced to retire.
On the 31km Sleeping Warrior test, Evans suffered suspension failure as the rear-right wheel broke away from his Rally1 Yaris. The Welshman dragged the tyre and its components along the waterlogged and thickly mudded sections of the stage before he was told to stop on stage.
It was a crushing blow for the Welshman, who was running in second place before stopping out stage.
However, he was not the only one to have trouble, as Solberg himself ran out of washer fluid and was forced to gingerly drive through the last few kilometres of the test with little visibility out of his windshield.
But that was not the only problem, as some of the drivers voiced their frustration to changes made to the 12th stage after the recce had been completed. Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta deemed it ‘unacceptable,’ whilst Evans called it ‘an absolute joke.’
Changes were made to SS12 to limit the crew’s ability to cut corners, and were communicated to the teams and crews via a video. Evans felt frustrated by the decision, feeling like it was the root cause of his double puncture on the stage, before his retirement.
“It’s an absolute joke,” Evans said, “They put all these things in the finish to stop us cutting, after the recce, and now the stones are everywhere. I just went for the line and double puncture. It’s ridiculous. Completely out of order.”
So, how does the rally stack up at the midday service?
- Oliver Solberg, Toyota – 2hr 13m 23.1s
- Sebastien Ogier, Toyota +42.6s
- Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota +1m 33.6s
- Thierry Neuville, Hyundai +2m 41.1s
- Adrien Fourmaux, Hyundai +2m 41.8s
- Esapekka Lappi, Hyundai +4m 41.1s
- Sami Pajari, Toyota +6m 21.8s
M-Sport Ford’s Jon Armstrong and Joshua McErlean finished the 12th stage down in 14th and 16th before the Sleeping Warrior stage was interrupted. They sit 27m 54.9s and 37m 42.6s off Solberg’s leading pace after SS13.
Read more WRC here:
- Oliver Solberg maintains Safari Rally Kenya lead despite puncture
- WRC confirm Safari Rally Kenya delay after Camp Moran cancelled
- Oliver Solberg charges ahead on opening day of Safari Rally Kenya
- 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
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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.
