Finnish rally driver Kalle Rovanpera, the reigning World Rally Champion, secured first place in a Toyota Yaris with a time of 3:36:04.0 at the 2024 Safari Rally held in Naivasha, Kenya.
His win marks Rovanpera’s second Safari Rally victory, having also won in 2022.
Takamoto Katsuta, another Toyota Yaris driver, finished second at 3:37:41.8. Evans Elyn rounded out the top four in a third Toyota Yaris, clocking 3:40:24.2.
“Winning the legendary Safari Rally feels good!
Also, congrats, Taka and Aaron, for another Safari Podium!” said Rovanpera.
“It’s always special to win here,” Rovanperä beamed. “Also, a legendary event for Toyota. We’ve always been so good here and that’s continuing. Like they say in Africa: the car in front is always a Toyota!
Kenyan Drivers Shine
Carl “Flash” Tundo, navigated by Jessop Tim, led the Kenyan team, finishing 7th in the WRC2 category and 16th overall at 4:41:09.6.
Karan Patel followed closely behind, securing 9th in WRC2 and 18th overall (5:09:33.1).
Hamza Anwar, sponsored by Safaricom, displayed exceptional performance to win the WRC3 category and finish 22nd overall with a time of 6:16:11.8.
This year, Safaricom invested Ksh 36 million in cash and in-kind to provide seamless and speedy 5G/4G network connectivity by providing Cell on Wheels (COW) units on the ground and two media centres to ensure uninterrupted connectivity and live streaming of the four-day rally event.
As part of this sponsorship, KES 5 million in cash was allocated to support Hamza Anwar, the young Kenyan driver competing in the WRC3 category and driving a Rally 3 Ford Fiesta.
Additionally, M-PESA partnered with M-Sport Ford to sponsor Adrien Fourmaux for KES 20 million for the 2024 WRC Safari Rally. The sponsorship deal will allow Adrien’s Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 to display the M-PESA branding for the Safari Rally in Kenya, while his overalls will carry the branding for the rest of the season.
