LITTLE KNOWN KENYAN DRIVER TAKES SURPRISE LEAD IN SAFARI RALLY

Kenyan star Onkar Rai survived a daunting Friday at Safari Rally Kenya to open up an early advantage in WRC3.

Rai, driving a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, was fifth after Thursday afternoon’s Super Special Kasarani curtain-raiser in Nairobi..

He soon turned the tables and moved into the lead after a storming time over Chui Lodge on Friday morning before steering clear of trouble on hardcore stages on the southern shore of Lake Naivasha.

Previous Safari winner Carl Tundo posed an early threat, but he crashed his Polo later in the day and Rai was able to pull clear.

The 33-year-old ended the day seventh overall with a 2min 55.1sec advantage in WRC3.

“It’s a dream come true,” beamed Rai. “ I never imagined I would be in the top 10 of a WRC rally. Obviously we want to go to the end, there’s still a massive way to go,”

“Once the big cars go through, it’s almost undriveable in places. But again, it’s Safari, and it’s the same for everyone. I’m just happy that the big boys are back,” he added.

Polish pilot Daniel Chwist was second in a Ford Fiesta Rally2. He was 1min 52.7sec ahead of former Junior WRC star Karan Patel, who completed the podium in a Fiesta R5.

Tundo eventually managed to end the day fourth following his off in SS4, but trailed the leaders by 7min 53.6sec. Aakif Virani rounded out the leaderboard 11min 01.3sec behind in a Škoda Fabia R5.

Tejveer Rai – brother to Onkar – was the only retiree in WRC3 after crashing out on the third stage.

There were no finishers in WRC2. Sole entrant Martin Prokop crashed his Fiesta heavily on a high-speed section of Kedong. Prokop’s team confirmed he was fine, although co-driver Zdeněk Jůrka was taken to the medical centre for checks.

Story courtesy WRC

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