2023 Safari Rally

2023 Safari Rally
Safari Rally Kenya 2023
Round 7 of 13 in the 2023 World Rally Championship
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The rally is featured with rocky and rutted tracks and unpredictable weather.
Host country Kenya
Rally baseNaivasha, Nakuru County
Dates run22 – 25 June 2023
Start locationKasarani, Nairobi
Finish locationHell's Gate National Park, Naivasha
Stages19 (356.98 km; 221.82 miles)[1]
Stage surfaceGravel
Transport distance835.49 km (519.15 miles)
Overall distance1,192.47 km (740.97 miles)
Statistics
Crews registered33
Crews31 at start, 20 at finish
Overall results
Overall winnerFrance Sébastien Ogier
France Vincent Landais
Japan Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
3:30:42.5
Power Stage winnerEstonia Ott Tänak
Estonia Martin Järveoja
United Kingdom M-Sport Ford WRT
5:35.0
Support category results
WRC-2 winnerPoland Kajetan Kajetanowicz
Poland Maciej Szczepaniak
3:57:15.9
WRC-3 winnerParaguay Diego Dominguez Jr.
Spain Rogelio Peñate
4:37:57.1

The 2023 Safari Rally (also known as the Safari Rally Kenya 2023) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held from 22 June to 25 June 2023.[2] It marked the seventy-first running of the Safari Rally, and was the seventh round of the 2023 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The event was based in Naivasha in the Nakuru County, and was contested over nineteen special stages covering a total competitive distance of 356.98 km (221.82 mi).[1]

Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the defending rally winners. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the defending manufacturer's winners.[3] Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak were the defending rally winners in the WRC-2 category.[4] Maxine Wahome and Murage Waigwa were the defending rally winners in the WRC-3 category.[5]

Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais won the rally. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, successfully defended their manufacturer's title.[6] Kajetanowicz and Szczepaniak successfully defended their victory in the World Rally Championship-2 category.[7] Diego Dominguez Jr. and Rogelio Peñate won the World Rally Championship-3 category.[8]

The Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT crew of Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe was disqualified from the rally post-event for unathorized reconnaissance of stages, stripping them both of their eighth place finish and of the victory in the Power Stage. The disqualifcation instead gave the Power Stage victory to Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja of the M-Sport Ford team.[9]

  1. ^ a b "Itinerary Safari Rally Kenya 2023". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  2. ^ "WRC poewrs into 2023 with exciting new-look calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Rovanperä tightens title hold with skilled Safari win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Safari success propels Kajto into WRC2 lead". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Wahome creates WRC3 history in Kenya". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Breaking: Ogier captures Safari Rally Kenya triumph". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Cool Kajto secures Safari success in WRC2". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Safari joy for WRC3 winner Dominguez". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Neuville disqualified from Safari Rally Kenya". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.