Prokop had problems in today’s final special stage, until then he was at the beginning of the second ten of the standings. With his Ford Fiesta, he sank into the sand and blocked the track, so the rest of the test had to be canceled.
–
“Unfortunately, Friday ends two kilometers before the finish. Fiona (the car) slammed the sand and we stayed,” Prokop said in a video on Facebook. He reminded that he crashed not far from the place where he had a serious accident last year, in which his co-driver Zdeněk Jůrka broke his vertebra. “This liner is cursed for us. But at least we’re whole and we’ll see if the engine survived,” said the 39-year-old pilot to continue the rally.
–
Forty-eight-year-old Loeb, who dominated the Monte Carlo Rally in January, resigned from fifth place. On Saturday, he can theoretically return to the start with a penalty. “It is frustrating to resign like this. We felt good, the car worked and we were well prepared … It’s a very demanding rally, there are a lot of rocks on the track and it’s dusty. We’re disappointed, but there’s nothing we can do,” Loeba was quoted as saying by AFP.
–
According to the M-Sport Ford team, a fire broke out in the engine compartment of the French driver’s car after the fourth timed test, which ended the first part of today’s stage.
–
The eight-time champion Ogier, who is defending last year’s victory in Kenya, led for most of the day. In the last test, however, he had a defect, changed the wheel and lost 2:21 to the fastest Rovanperä. He dropped by five positions in the results list.
–
The 21-year-old Finn, who won three of the five World Cup races this year, is currently 22 seconds ahead of Brit Elfyn Evans. Ott Tänak from Estonia is third with a gap of another three seconds.
–
| Safari rally Kenya, World Championship race in car competitions – after the 1st stage: |
|---|
| 1. Rovanperä, Halttunen (Fin./Toyota Yaris) 1: 20: 58,1 |
| 2. Evans, Martin (Brit./Toyota Yaris) -22,4 |
| 3. Tänak, Järveoja (Est./Hyundai i20) -25.3 |
| 4. Kacuta, Johnston (Jap., Brit./Toyota Yaris) -26.6 |
| 5. Neuville, Wydaeghe (Belg./Hyundai i20) -57,5 |
| 6. Ogier, Veillas (Fr./Toyota Picnic) -2:08,2; |
| … 14. Prokop, Jurka (CR / Ford Fiesta) -21: 10.7. |
—
