NAIVASHA, Kenya – If you wanted the quintessential Safari, Friday gave it to you in spades. We had the mud of Camp Moran, the bone-jarring ruts of Kedong, and a leaderboard that swung like a pendulum in a gale. By the time the final dust settled on the shores of Lake Naivasha tonight, the 33-second cushion Oliver Solberg slept on last night had been decimated.

He still leads, but only just. One second. That is the razor-thin margin separating the young Swede from the greatest predator this sport has ever seen, Sébastien Ogier. 

The Top Five: A Toyota Titanomachy

Toyota Gazoo Racing continues to exert a stranglehold on the Rift Valley, but the internal hierarchy has been violently reshuffled.

Pos	Driver	Car	Gap to Leader
1	Oliver Solberg	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	—
2	Sébastien Ogier	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+1.0s
3	Elfyn Evans	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+20.5s
4	Sami Pajari	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+1m10.5s
5	Thierry Neuville	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+1m46.1s

Oliver Solberg looked to be cruising early on, maintaining a 28-second lead at the midday service despite a minor overshoot into the bushes. But the Safari’s infamous "teeth" bit back in the afternoon. A puncture on the second test of the repeat loop saw his advantage evaporate. 

Sébastien Ogier, meanwhile, was in vintage form. Starting the day over a minute back, he swept through the morning and afternoon like a man possessed, claiming stage wins and systematically hunting down his younger teammate. 

Dramatic Moments: Ruts and Retirements

The sheer brutality of the terrain forced the cancellation of the morning’s opening Camp Moran stage (SS3) due to "deteriorated road conditions" caused by overnight rain. When the action finally resumed, the drama was relentless. 

The biggest story outside the lead battle was Thierry Neuville. After a disastrous Thursday where he lacked any confidence in his Hyundai, the Belgian found his feet today, climbing into the top five. Conversely, Takamoto Katsuta—a perennial Safari favorite—dropped down the order to 7th after suffering a puncture during the afternoon loop. 

In the WRC2 category, Gus Greensmith continues to lead in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, sitting 10th overall. He has been the model of consistency while others, including Sami Pajari earlier in the day, battled through the lottery of the rocks. 

Speculation: The Saturday Sprint

The psychological battle is now at fever pitch. Solberg has the lead, but Ogier has the momentum. Tomorrow’s itinerary features the legendary Sleeping Warrior stage—a place where rallies are won or lost in the blink of an eye.

With the gap at exactly one second, we are effectively starting the rally over. Ogier knows how to win by a whisker; Solberg is hungry to prove he can handle the pressure of a nine-time champion breathing down his neck. If the predicted afternoon rain arrives tomorrow, we could see a total reset of the standings once again.

With the lead down to a single second and the Sleeping Warrior looming, do you think Oliver Solberg can maintain his composure under direct pressure from Sébastien Ogier tomorrow?

2026 WRC Safari Rally, Mud, Dust, and Drama: Solberg leads out another commanding performance by Toyota

 

Naivasha, Kenya,  can’t just turn up to the Safari and expect it to behave. You don’t "race" Kenya; you negotiate with it, and on Thursday’s opening leg of the 2026 WRC Safari Rally, the Great Rift Valley was in no mood for compromise.

By the time the mud and dust settled around Lake Naivasha tonight, it was Oliver Solberg who emerged from the haze with a commanding lead. Now driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 as a full-time factory man, the young Swede looked every bit the natural successor to the legends who have tamed this wilderness before him. But as any veteran of the Safari—from the era of Mehta to the modern day—will tell you, Thursday is merely the prologue to the pain.

The Top Five: A Toyota Takeover

Toyota Gazoo Racing has historically owned these plains, and Day One of 2026 suggests the script hasn't changed. They currently occupy the entire top five in a display of sheer mechanical dominance.

Pos	Driver	Car	Gap to Leader
1	Oliver Solberg	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	—
2	Elfyn Evans	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+33.3s
3	Sébastien Ogier	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+1m05.1s
4	Takamoto Katsuta	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+1m15.3s
5	Sami Pajari	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+2m06.4s

Solberg was masterful, finding grip where others found only "fesh-fesh". Behind him, championship leader Elfyn Evans played the long game, mindful that his 13-point lead in the standings could evaporate in a single mud-hole. Ogier, returning for his partial program, remains the ultimate predator in the weeds, lurking just over a minute back.

Drama and Heartbreak

It wouldn't be the Safari without a casualty list that reads like a tragedy. The most significant retirement of the day belonged to Lancia’s Yohan Rossel. In a moment of pure Safari cruelty, Rossel clipped a hidden rock on a narrow section, ending his day prematurely and leaving teammate Nikolay Gryazin to fly the flag in WRC2.

Over at Hyundai, the mood is as dark as a Kenyan storm cloud. Thierry Neuville—so often the bridesmaid in Africa—admitted to having "zero confidence" after dropping nearly 45 seconds on the opening test. He’s currently mired in ninth, struggling with a car that seems to be fighting the terrain rather than flowing with it.

The Speculation: A Muddy Weekend Ahead?

The local word in Naivasha is that the rains are coming. If the dust turns to the infamous "black cotton" mud tomorrow, Solberg’s 33-second lead over Evans will mean nothing. We’ve seen Evans win here by being the last man standing, and with the Sleeping Warrior stage looming on Friday, the real Safari starts tomorrow.

Can Toyota maintain this 1-2-3-4-5? History says yes, but the African sky might have other plans.

Report: Neil McDaid

Photos: Toyota Gazoo, Jon Armstrong FB

Rally2 Rebellion at the 100 Acre Wood

Salem, Missouri, Round 2 of the 2026 ARA championship, Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. This high-speed sprint through the Ozarks demands absolute commitment, with blinding dust or deep water crossings, depending on the weather. The stakes are always high, but this year, with Subaru no longer fielding two Open class cars, a new crop of young drivers  setting their sights on the overall podium.

The big story? It has to be the world debut of the Toyota GR Corolla RC2, the car was built/prepared in Vermont by the subsidiary of Vermont Sport car, so basically built by VSC, with lot of input from Toyota WRC, team boss Jari-Matti Latvala, has even been to the USA to test the car during development. . Seeing a factory-backed Toyota on American gravel feels like a fever dream for those of us who remember the ProRally days of the '80s. Piloting this monster is Dakar sensation Seth Quintero, and let’s be honest, the pressure is immense. Can a desert specialist find the rhythm on these lightning-fast, undulating Missouri stages, keeping it on the correct side of the camber and out of the trees will be job number 1. 

Coming off a disastrous last stage DNF on round one,  Lia Block, is back for more with Alex Gelsomino calling the notes, she’s finding a level of consistency that’s starting to look very familiar to those of us who watched her father dominate these woods. Word is that Lia will debut a Hyundai Rally2 car which will be run by PCRS out of Ireland, word also has it, that Patrick Gruszka’s Hyundai will now be run by PCRS, after his DNF at Sno drift. This car is a big step up for Lia and she definitely will be a contender for the podium. 

The return of Tom Williams. The 2022 RC2 champion and former WRC competitor is back, and he’s swapped his familiar Ford for a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 prepared by Standard Motorsport. Williams isn't here to make up the numbers; with a more level playing field with Subaru’s open class cars sidelined, an overall podium is not out of the question for Tom.  

And then there are the icons, Travis Pastrana remains the spiritual heart of the ARA, a man who has won this event multiple times and knows every rock in the Mark Twain National Forest. As mentioned Subaru’s open class cars are out 2026 so Travis will continue as the soul driver for the team in the newly developed w L4WD car.

Rounding out a stacked field will be Irish driver Aoife Raftery, a DirtFish-backed talent stepping into a Ford Fiesta Rally3. Also we can't not mention the ever-present threat of privateer and round one winner, Mark Piatkowski, who has moved to an L4WD for 100AW.

Because of the unique, super-fast surface of Rally in the 100AW, going out first on the road can often be an advantage due to the hard-packed gravel with very limited to no gravel sweeping. It's really difficult to predict a winner for this one. Of course, Travis would be an easy pick, but with the new car still having some issues when pushed hard, it's wide open.

Report/Photo: Neil McDaid 

TOYOTA REIGNS SUPREME: Historic 1-2-3-4 Sweep of WRC Sweden 2026!

Report: Neil McDaid

UMEÅ, SWEDEN — In a display of clinical dominance that will be etched into the WRC history books, Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin secured a masterful victory at Rally Sweden 2026. As the sun set over the frozen forests of Umeå today, February 15th, the service park witnessed a rare feat: a complete Toyota GAZOO Racing lockout of the top four positions, the first back-to-back podium sweep by a manufacturer since 2010.

The Final Assault: Ice and Iron Will

Evans began the final leg with a 13.3-second cushion, but in the world of stage rallying, that gap can evaporate in a single snowbank. However, the Welshman was "chuffed and relieved" after managing the lead across the day's three final snow-covered tests. While Thierry Neuville salvaged pride and maximum points by winning the Wolf Power Stage by a razor-thin 0.078 seconds over Evans, the overall glory belonged to the Yaris squad.

Katsuta’s Valiant Charge and Pajari’s Podium Debut

Takamoto Katsuta pushed his teammate to the limit, finishing just 14.3 seconds adrift to secure a stellar second place. The biggest story of the weekend, however, was Sami Pajari. In only his second ever WRC podium finish, the young Finn drove with maturity beyond his years to claim third. Oliver Solberg, rebounding from earlier heartbreak, clawed his way back to fourth, ensuring the historic Toyota clean sweep on home soil.

Hyundai and M-Sport: A Day of Damage Limitation

For Hyundai Shell Mobis, it was a weekend to forget. Despite Neuville's late-stage heroics, the team struggled for traction, with Adrien Fourmaux finishing as the best of the i20 N fleet in fifth. M-Sport Ford showed flashes of brilliance through Martins Sesks, who demonstrated stage-winning pace, but they eventually had to settle for eighth and ninth with Jon Armstrong and Josh McErlean.

WRC2: Korhonen the King of Snow

In the Rally2 category, Roope Korhonen delivered a masterclass in snow driving, leading from the front to secure victory by 11.2 seconds over Teemu Suninen. The Finnish pair ensured that Toyota’s dominance extended even into the support categories.

Rally Sweden 2026 Final Results

Top 5 Overall Finishers (Rally1)

| Pos | Driver / Co-Driver | Vehicle | Time / Gap |

| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |

| 1 | Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 2h 35m 53.1s |

| 2 | Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +14.3s |

| 3 | Sami Pajari / Marko Salminen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +46.0s |

| 4 | Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1m 11.6s |

| 5 | Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +1m 50.3s |

Top 5 Finishers (Rally2 / WRC2)

Pos	Driver / Co-Driver	Vehicle	Gap
1	Roope Korhonen / Anssi Viinikka	Toyota GR Yaris Rally2	2h 46m 29.3s
2	Teemu Suninen / Janni Hussi	Toyota GR Yaris Rally2	+11.2s
3	Lauri Joona / Antti Linnaketo	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	+26.4s
4	Isak Reiersen / Stefan Gustavsson	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	+1m 45.6s
5	Mille Johansson / Johan Grönvall	Ford Fiesta Rally2	+2m 33.6s