Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe maintained their top ahead of tomorrow’s final day of the World Safari Rally in Naivasha, Kenya.
The Belgium crew took an overall 57.4 seconds advantage on Saturday ahead of Japanese Takamoto Katsuta after dropping over half a minute to seven-time World Rally Champion and team-mate Sebastian Ogier with 18.1 seconds.
Ogier won three stages and managed to pass Estonia’s Ott Tänak for third position as Gus Greensmith and Adrien Fourmaux were locked in their own little tussle for much of the day.
Seventh-placed Kalle Rovanperä was too far behind in WRC3 runners.
Kenya’s Elfyn Evans and Dani Sordo continued to climb back towards the top 10 after their retirements on Friday. Sordo benefited from missing the final stage storm to claim the fastest time.
Local driver Onkar Rai led WRC3 in a fine eighth with his Volkswagen Polo GTi. Fellow Kenyan Karen Patel and five-time Safari winner Carl Tundo rounded off the top 10.
Ogier still had his sights set on a podium finish and a stunning run of 8min 47.5sec enabled the Frenchman to set the fastest time and nibble another 2.1 seconds out of Tänak to trail the Estonian by 35.5.
Katsuta was safe in second place but dropped time to Tänak and another 4.4 to leader Neuville, who was forced to brake on a long straight to avoid a dazzle of zebra.
Neuville and Katsuta were also caught out in the changing weather conditions but were able to stay in first and second places with the Belgian extending his lead to 57.4 seconds after a hard charge in treacherous conditions.
2021 Safari Rally Kenya – positions after SS13
1. Thierry Neuville (BEL)/Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL) Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC 2hr 45min 04.6sec
2. Takamoto Katsuta (JPN)/Daniel Barritt (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr 46min 02.0sec
3. Sébastien Ogier (FRA)/Julien Ingrassia (FRA) Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr 46min 20.1sec
4. Ott Tänak (EST)/Martin Järveoja (EST) Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC 2hr 47min 25.8sec
5. Gus Greensmith (GBR)/Chris Patterson (GBR) Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr 47min 44.0sec
6. Adrien Fourmaux (FRA)/Renaud Jamoul (BEL) Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr 47min 56.0sec
7. Kalle Rovanperä (FIN)/Jonne Halttunen (FIN) Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr 56min 08.9sec
8. Onkar Rai (KEN)/Drew Sturrock (GBR) Volkswagen Polo GTi (WRC3) 3hr 11min 03.7sec
9. Karen Patel (KEN)/Tauseef Khan (KEN) Ford Fiesta (WRC3) 3hr 16min 36.4sec
10. Carl Tundo (KEN)/Timothy Jessop (KEN) Volkswagen Polo GTi (WRC3) 3hr 18min 30.6sec