The second day of the Kenya Rally, the sixth round of the WRC World Championship, experienced many twists and turns this Friday, with Sébastien Loeb abandoning and Sébastien Ogier suffering a puncture, leaving the provisional first position to Kalle Rovanperä of Toyota.
After seven stages, the Finn leads Britain’s Elfyn Evans (also Toyota) by 22.4 seconds and Estonia’s Ott Tänak (Hyundai) by 25.3 seconds.
Loeb (Ford) had to retire after stage 4 due to an engine fire.
“It’s frustrating to leave like this because the feeling was good, the car was good and we were well prepared. The rally is very hard, a lot of dust and stones. It’s disappointing but we can’t do more”, declared the Frenchman, who was in 5th position before retiring.
The 4th and 7th specials, with the same route played in two directions, were particularly difficult due to the sand, dust and small stones.
Ogier (Toyota) suffered a puncture that made him lose the lead and has delayed him more than two minutes from the first position.
Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) also suffered from race conditions. The Belgian had to slow down during stage 4 because his air filter was clogged, and he now sits in provisional 5th, just under a minute behind Rovanperä.
