Takamoto Katsuta inherits Safari Rally Kenya lead after top three retire
14th March 2026Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta heads the World Rally Championship’s Safari Rally Kenya after the top three drivers retired after the morning loop.
Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool
Katsuta only has four stages left on Sunday to compete before the Japanese driver earns his first-ever WRC rally win after a chaotic Saturday morning saw multiple retirements.
Toyota’s leading driver heads the overall timing boards ahead of the leading Hyundai, driven by Adrien Fourmaux, by one-minute and 25.5 seconds, with teammate Sami Pajari rounding out the top three, four minutes behind.
The day was originally led by Toyota’s Oliver Solberg, with Sebastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans trailing behind. However, all three would retire from the event before arriving to the midday service.
Evans was forced to stop out on the first pass of the tough Sleeping Warrior stage, on SS13. The Welshman suffered terminal damage to his rear-right suspension, whilst running second overall, dragging the tyre through the waterlogged quagmire and thick mud.
Solberg was virtually blind in the last few kilometres of the Sleeping Warrior test after the Swedish driver had run out of washer fluid, allowing mud to build up across his windshield.
On the road section, heading back to service, both Solberg and Ogier faced trouble with their Rally1’s, which forced them to retire on their way to the service park. Solberg suffered electrical and transmission issues on the liaison, whilst Ogier had alternator problems.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville also joined the list of retirements, after battling overheating issues, with the Belgian world champion sustaining a triple puncture on the second pass of Soysambu.
The second pass of the Sleeping Warrior stage (SS16) was cancelled due to the road conditions, marking a premature end to Saturday’s running, after it was deemed too difficult for rescue vehicles to access thanks to deep, water-filled ruts.
ℹ️ SS16 of @SafariRallyWRC has been cancelled.
After assessment, conditions were deemed too challenging for rescue vehicles to access in the event of an emergency, with several sections affected by deep water-filled ruts following afternoon rain.#WRC | #SafariRallyKenya 🇰🇪
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) March 14, 2026
So, who sits where going into the final day of Safari Rally Kenya?
The Safari Rally Kenya leaderboard
- Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota
- Adrien Fourmaux, Hyundai
- Sami Pajari, Toyota
- Esapekka Lappi, Hyundai
Despite retiring from the day on the road session, according to the WRC live timings, Solberg, Ogier, Neuville and Evans remain classified in 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th overall. They remain ahead of M-Sport Ford’s Joshua McErlean and Jon Armstrong, who occupy 15th and 16th overall, over 40 minutes off the leading time.
Read more WRC here:
- Solberg heads Safari Rally Kenya after a chaotic Saturday morning
- 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
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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.
