The 2026 Safari Rally Kenya has officially kicked off, and if the shakedown is anything to go by, we are in for the toughest weekend on the WRC calendar. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville laid down a marker, topping the timesheets on the all-new shakedown stage, but in the Safari, speed is only half the battle.
Heavy rains in the lead-up to the event have transformed the Naivasha stages into a treacherous test of survival. Drivers are already warning that this year’s rally will be a “lottery”—a brutal game of avoiding the swamps and keeping the cars in one piece.
Neuville showed his hand early, clocking the fastest time to edge out a hungry Toyota quartet. However, the gap between the field was tight, and the conditions are constantly evolving.
“I don’t think anyone can predict the final result here,” Neuville admitted after his run. “It’s going to be a good adventure… we need to find the fine line between going fast but not too fast.”
The Toyota camp, led by championship leader Elfyn Evans and reigning champion Sebastien Ogier, are approaching the weekend with caution. Ogier summed up the sentiment in the service park: “The rain has been intense… some sections are going to be about survival. The main target for everybody is to stay out of trouble.”
“Shrek’s Swamp”
The weather has been the talk of the service park. M-Sport’s Jon Armstrong, making his Safari debut, captured the mood perfectly when describing the reconnaissance: “The recce was something I’ve never seen before with the big swamps – I think Shrek might be angry we’re driving through his swamp!”
