NAIVASHA, Kenya, March 14 – Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) WRT deputy principal Juha Kankunnen has declared that his team will bounce back stronger on Sunday following a nightmare Day 3 of the WRC safari Rally 2026.
“My boys are hungry for Sunday points. The team will be working tirelessly to get the cars in top shape, and I can promise you, the competition won’t know what’s hit them.
“We’ve had a tough day, but then again, this is the Safari. The attrition rate in Kenya has never surprised me. Tomorrow (Sunday), our opponents will see speeds they’ve never seen before – it’s going be a wild ride,” the retired three-time WRC Safari Rally champion declared.
Having brought all five of the Yaris Rally 1 cars to Kenya, Kankunnen and his counterparts watched in horror as three of their star drivers retired moments from each other on the last stage of Saturday’s morning.
The 13th and fabled Sleeping Warrior stage woke up with vengeance, accounting for the retirement of last year’s Safari Rally winner and championship leader, Elfyn Evans who shattered his rear suspension.
Next came the double crushing blow of losing overnight leader, Oliver Solberg and the decorated world champion, Sebastien Ogier, in the transport section back to midday service after SS13.
Toyota ended the day still atop of the leaderboard after Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta inherited the lead but Kankunnen and his wounded stars will be seeking more points in the Wolf Power Stage finale at Hell’s Gate, Naivasha.
“It was a rough morning for us, but we’ll get the cars sorted tonight, nice and tight for Super Sunday. We’ve got five points up for grabs in the Power stages, so it’s going to be great to have the boys back in the saddle.”
“There are 10 points on the table tomorrow, so our drivers are pumped to get back out there – Solberg, Ogier, and Evans. The team’s going to be working flat out to get the cars shipshape ahead of the morning start.”
On Sunday there will be five bonus points awarded to the winners in an accumulated standings across all Sunday stages.
Four points are available for second place, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth.
The same points scale is awarded to the five fastest crews of the Power Stage as well.
