Sebastian Ogier Claims Second WRC Safari Rally Title, Defeating Rival Kalle Rovanpera
Sebastian Ogier is the champion of the 2023 WRC Safari rally after edging out his Toyota Teammate and rival Kalle Rovanpera for his second victory in Kenya.
It was a tense conclusion to the most difficult rally in the world, proving once again that it never runs out of surprises, even in the final stages.
Before the final Wolf Power stage, Toyota’s Sebastian Ogier and finish speedster Kalle Rovanpera were separated by only 9.2 seconds, and Ogier had to fight through the finish with a broken windscreen to claim victory.
Despite tackling Oserian 1 without a tailgate following a brief brush with a tree, the Frenchman maintained his lead over his Toyota teammate Kalle Rovanpera with a stellar morning loop.
Rovanpera maintained a healthy time gap despite admitting that he did not push to the limit because his championship points were secure in comparison to his closest competitors.
Ott Tanak appeared to be warming up for the Wolf Power stage later in the day when he won the first drive around Hell’s Gate with a skilled performance.
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Esappeka Lappi complained of breaking his prop shaft again in the opening Malewa 1 stage, and Dani Sordo complained of power steering failure. It appeared that Hyundai’s problems were never-ending.
In the afternoon loop, most of the drivers appeared to conserve their vehicles and tires in preparation for a run at the Power stage points. Rovanpera won Malewa 2, but only by 0.6 seconds over his rival and teammate Sebastian Ogier.
Except for stage winner Takamoto Katsuta, all drivers in the Oserian 2 posted slow times, indicating that the Toyotas, which had appeared to be invincible throughout the entire weekend, was experiencing issues. There was a lot of dust inside the Toyota’s cockpit and an alarm on the dashboard indicating something was missing, with Rovanpera notably “sporting” a mud mustache.
It was a historic 1-2-3-4 finish for the Japanese manufacturer on the Kenyan Savannah, demonstrating their dominance.
Dani Sordo of Hyundai finished fifth in the standings, while Ott Tanak and Pierre Louis Loubet of M-Sport Ford finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
After a difficult weekend, Thoerry Neuville could only finish eighth, but he earned five bonus points for his performance on the Wolf Power stage.
Kalle Rovanpera leads the standings with 139 points after the arduous Safari, 37 points ahead of Neuville, with Elfyn Evans rounding out the top three with 98 points.
Sebastian Ogier Claims Second WRC Safari Rally Title, Defeating Rival Kalle Rovanpera
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