Solberg weathers Safari storm to retain 1 second lead heading into day three

Oliver Solberg maintained his lead at the Safari Rally Kenya despite a bruising second day of action in the 2026 World Rally Championship in Naivasha.

The Swede survived punishing stages, mechanical challenges and relentless pressure from his rivals to head into Saturday’s action as the overnight leader with a cumulative time of 1:33:50.

However, the day got off to a shaky start after the opening stage, SS3 Camp Moran 2, was cancelled following a heavy downpour that worsened road conditions and rendered the section impassable.

Action finally got underway at SS4 Loldia 1, where nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier set the pace with a time of 14:18.8.

Finland’s Sami Pajari finished second in 14:21.3 while Adrien Fourmaux was third in 14:21.8. Pajari responded strongly by winning SS5 KenGen Geothermal in 6:53.3 ahead of Ogier (6:56.3) and Elfyn Evans (7:01.8).

The Finn continued his impressive run by topping SS6 Kedong 1 with 6:22.6, beating Takamoto Katsuta (6:26.2) and Thierry Neuville (6:28.1). The afternoon loop resumed with SS7 Kedong 2 where Ogier clocked 6:24.4 to edge Pajari (6:25.4) and Fourmaux (6:26.0).

Pajari secured his third stage victory at SS8 KenGen Geothermal 2 in 6:50.2 ahead of Ogier (6:53.4) and Neuville (6:53.5). Ogier dominated the longest stage of the day, SS9 Loldia 2 (18.95km), finishing in 14:14.1.

Solberg followed closely in 14:14.4 alongside Fourmaux after a tightly contested run through the dusty section. Pajari capped a strong day by claiming his fourth stage win at SS10 Mzabibu 2 in 7:07.8.

Solberg was second with 7:10.5 while Ogier finished third in 7:10.8. The day’s results leave Solberg narrowly ahead of Ogier, who trails by just one second overall with a total time of 1:33:51.2.

Evans sits third in 1:34:10.7 while Pajari is fourth in 1:35:00.7 as Toyota Gazoo Racing occupy the top four positions. Solberg admitted the rally had been demanding, especially after a puncture cost him valuable time.

“We are still in the lead, and I’m happy about that,” he said. “We’ve been trying to stay clean all day and not push too hard. Ogier has been on the big push.”

“I had a slow puncture which cost us nearly 30 seconds, but we managed to stay ahead,” he added.

Evans also described the stages as punishing, particularly Kedong and Mzabibu. “It was a tough day for me, especially in Kedong, and the final stage was difficult,” he said.

The Welshman expects Saturday’s stages to be even tougher as drivers continue to battle the unforgiving Kenyan terrain.