Elfyn Evans has finally done it! Back-to-back WRC wins, a feat as rare as finding a tourist in Nairobi without a Maasai bead necklace The Toyota driver tiptoed through the chaos of the gruelling 2025 Safari Rally Kenya like a man sneaking out of the house at 3 a.m., proving that sometimes, slow and steady (or at least, less chaotic) wins the race. But the final day wasn’t without drama, particularly for Takamoto Katsuta, who made sure the rally ended in true Safari style upside down, possibly reconsidering his life choices while hanging there like a bat.
Evans, taking the safest approach possible (by Safari standards), backed off on the final day to secure the win by a commanding 1m09.9s over Ott Tänak. Reigning world champion Thierry Neuville finished third, marking his first-ever Safari podium and handing Hyundai its first double podium in Africa. And while Neuville and Tänak scooped up extra Super Sunday and powerstage bonus points like kids at a candy store, Evans coolly stretched his championship lead to a comfy 36 points, probably humming “Hakuna Matata” all the way to the finish line.
Two-time world champion Kalle Rovanperä didn’t have quite the same luck as last year this time, his Toyota threw in the towel to an electrical failure on Sunday morning, leaving him staring at a 57-point championship deficit like a student realizing they studied the wrong syllabus before finals. Meanwhile, Toyota’s manufacturers’ title hopes took a slight dent as Hyundai outscored them by 12 points. But hey, it’s all fun and games until your engine decides it’s had enough and ghosts you mid-rally.
Ott Tänak had an eventful Safari, leading early on Friday before his Hyundai’s driveshaft gave up on life like a WiFi router during a Zoom meeting. That setback allowed him to slip behind Evans, but he still managed to claw back into second after Rovanperä played a game of ‘how much suspension can I break before Toyota notices?’
As for Neuville, his weekend had everything but a happy ending think of it as a Safari Rally starter pack, complete with mechanical drama, time penalties, and an unexpected endurance test. First, he left Friday’s morning service six minutes late due to a transmission and driveshaft swap, earning a one-minute penalty. Then, like a kid who just can’t stay out of trouble, he picked up another 10s penalty for a jump start, followed by a 50s penalty for arriving late to a stage because, of course, he had to unclog his air filter after it inhaled half of Kenya’s supply of fech-fech (the rally’s signature talcum-powder-like dust). And just when he thought the suffering was over, Friday night turned into a whole different kind of endurance event this time, racing to the toilet instead of the finish line.
Takamoto Katsuta was all set to continue his streak of top-four Safari finishes until he decided the rally needed a proper Hollywood-style climax. In a desperate bid for powerstage points, he sent his Toyota into a full-on acrobatic routine, rolling it in spectacular fashion. Nearby spectators, who by now are experts in flipping cars back onto their wheels, helped him back on track. The poor Toyota limped to the finish sounding like an asthmatic donkey with a grudge, but Katsuta still salvaged fifth place only to be upstaged by Toyota Gazoo Racing’s junior entrant, Sami Pajari, who hilariously swiped points off the main team. Oops.
M-Sport’s Grégoire Munster finished sixth despite a final-stage gearbox scare, which meant he had to switch gears manually like an old-school taxi driver wrestling with a stubborn gear lever while shouting “We go, we go!” His rollercoaster weekend had everything: an emotional second-ever WRC stage win, the heartbreak of losing his grandfather just days before the rally, and the added challenge of nursing his car to the finish while probably praying it didn’t turn into a single-speed bicycle.
Teammate Josh McErlean had an unfortunate date with a broken steering arm, costing him half an hour and leaving him so far outside the points, he might as well have been spectating. Meanwhile, Adrien Fourmaux’s rally was the kind of horror show that even Hollywood would struggle to script retiring twice before Hyundai finally threw in the towel and benched him for Saturday, probably to save both the car and their sanity. But give the man credit on Sunday, he came back swinging like a boxer who just realized he’s been punching himself the whole match, winning both Super Sunday and the powerstage to salvage some dignity (and ten much-needed championship points).
Over in WRC2, Gus Greensmith claimed victory for the second year in a row, proving he’s basically the reigning king of consistency (and avoiding major disaster). Jan Solans looked like a real contender until his Toyota decided it needed a nap, rolling over and costing him three minutes. But in true rally fashion, he somehow managed to keep second place, probably wondering if the rally gods were just messing with him. Oliver Solberg, on the other hand, led the category on Friday before learning an important lesson about just how deep fech-fech can be when he got beached like a whale on a sandy shore and needed a rescue mission worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster.
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In the African Rally Championship category, local heroes Carl Tundo and Tim Jasop overcame a power steering problem to take the win in their Ford Fiesta R5 because who needs power steering when you’ve got sheer determination and probably a very strong arm workout?, while Jeremiah Wahome and co-driver Victor Okudi finished second in their shiny new Skoda Fabia R5.
And then, the pride of Uganda, Yassin Nasser and Ali Katumba, made sure to wrap up the podium in third place, cruising through the rally in their Ford Fiesta R5. They may not have had the chance to claim the top spot this time, but they definitely had the skills to keep everyone guessing whether they were secretly saving their full power for another rally. And hey, no one can argue that third place isn’t just as good as first—especially when you’re navigating your way through obstacles with a grin that says, “I’ve got this.” The ARC podium has never looked so entertaining!
The 2025 Safari Rally Kenya had it all; big crashes, mechanical failures, and a champion who actually avoided most of the chaos. Evans played it smart, while others, like Katsuta and Neuville, proved that sometimes, the Safari wins no matter how good your pace is. If history has taught us anything, it’s that the Safari Rally is less about speed and more about survival. And Evans? He survived the best.
