Elfyn Evans has had a complicated weekend at the Safari Rally Kenya, where he had to retire for the first time since September 2024. The Welsh driver from Toyota Gazoo Racing was in a good position, holding second place just 22.6 seconds behind the leader, Oliver Solberg, when a problem with the right rear suspension of his GR Yaris forced him to withdraw during the first stage of the day.
The damage from the suspension failure was too severe to be repaired. Evans, who had not retired from a World Rally Championship event since his fall at the Acropolis Rally in Greece in 2024, had managed to stay among the top six in the subsequent 19 races.
After analyzing the situation, Evans mentioned a double puncture that he believes was caused by a rock on the new layout of stage 12. He expressed his disappointment with the changes made by the organizers, describing them as an “absolute joke.”
His words were: “The morning started well and everything was going fine in the second stage. But the new layout at the end of the stage surprised us. We suffered a double puncture and barely managed to change the wheel to start the next stage, but the rock caused more damage than we expected. On the first braking of the last stage, the rear suspension gave way.”
In his final assessment, Evans pointed out the importance of his long period without retirements, but he couldn’t hide his disappointment: “It’s frustrating, but you have to accept that these things happen and move on.”
Despite the setback, Evans is expected to continue competing on Super Sunday to try to secure the 10 points available. According to forecasts, he will be joined by his teammates, Oliver Solberg and Sébastien Ogier, who also encountered problems during the road section after stage 13.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
