NAIVASHA (Kenya) — Estonian rally driver Ott Tanak took command of Safari Rally Kenya when he won the second of the two stages race but competitors remained largely silent in protest after French driver Adrien Fourmaux was fined for swearing.
After the first 12.91 kilometres of timed sections, Tanak, the 2019 world champion, led Katsuta, in a Toyota, by 2.4sec with Gregoire Munster, a Luxembourger with Ford, third. “For me, it was all fine,” Tanak said according to AFP.
Under the International Automobile Federation’s (FIA) rules on foul language, Fourmaux was fined €10 000 for using an English four-letter-word on live TV to describe a mistake in Rally Sweden.
Drivers responded by refusing to give interviews, or speaking only a few words in their mother tongues.
The rules caused tensions in Formula One last season after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was ordered to do community service for swearing in a press conference and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fined for a similar offence.
Welshman Elfyn Evans, the championship leader after two rounds, won the opening stage in his Toyota by 1.5sec from Belgian Thierry Neuville in a Hyundai, with Tanak fourth.
The Estonian then edged Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta by 1.1sec to take the second stage, with Evans fifth and Neuville 11th after a crash.
After the first 12.91 kilometres of timed sections, Tanak, the 2019 world champion, led Katsuta, in a Toyota, by 2.4sec with Gregoire Munster, a Luxembourger with Ford, third. “For me, it was all fine,” Tanak said.
The Estonian saved the day for Hyundai, which had a series of setbacks.
Fourmaux was unable to reach the start of the second stage after his battery died on his way from the stage one finish to the start of the next stage.
“It’s the type of rally where we can still score some points, even after retiring on the first day,” he said. “It’s not ideal, but we are going to try to get the best that we can.”
“I’m very happy to be back in Kenya. It’s going to be a big challenge, more than in previous years, but I try to do my best. The second stage was already quite challenging after the rain; it was hard to judge which corners were slippery and I went quite wide at one point, but I’m still here,” Katsuta said.
“We could have this situation in many stages during the weekend, so it was a good reminder of what can happen. Tomorrow with some proper stages I’m sure we will see a lot of drama, but I feel comfortable with the car and just need to stay calm and be patient,” Katsuta added.
Neuville, the third Hyundai driver, almost lost everything on stage two, ending up on two wheels and damaging his car. The Belgian managed to finish the stage, but lost almost 20 seconds.
Two-time world champion Kalle Rovanpera was fourth overall, 3sec behind Tanak, and just ahead of teammate Evans.
A much tougher day awaits the drivers, with eight stages covering a total of 159.06 kilometres near Naivasha, some 100 kilometres north-west of the capital, Nairobi.
The day opens with a 32.2 kilometre run along the cliffs of the Great Rift Valley.
“I think the first stage tomorrow will show quite a lot,” said Tanak. “It’s super tricky, very demanding and long at the same time. I think the whole day will be quite a big show.”
