TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) is preparing for the third round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship, Safari Rally Kenya, taking place from March 12 to 15. The team aims to continue its strong start to the season after securing all podium positions at both Rallye Monte-Carlo and Rally Sweden, a feat not achieved in the opening two rounds of a WRC season since 1984.
Safari Rally Kenya stands out as the only African event on the championship calendar and presents significantly different conditions compared to previous winter rallies. Since its return to the WRC in 2021 following nearly twenty years away, the rally has become known as one of the most challenging events in motorsport. The stages feature a mix of rough, rocky sections and soft sand, with weather conditions that can quickly change dry tracks into muddy terrain. Teams adapt their vehicles specifically for these challenges by installing features such as snorkel systems to help engines cope with deep water and sand.
TGR-WRT has won every Safari Rally since its WRC comeback in 2021, bringing Toyota’s total number of victories at this event to 13. Elfyn Evans, who won last year’s edition and currently leads the championship after his recent win in Sweden, holds a 13-point advantage over teammate Oliver Solberg. Takamoto Katsuta sits third overall following his second-place finish in Sweden and has reached the podium three times in Kenya. Nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier returns for his first Safari start since 2023; he has previously won this rally twice. Sami Pajari joins under TGR-WRT2 after achieving his second career podium in Sweden and seeks to improve on his fourth-place result from last year’s Safari debut.
In WRC2 competition, Gus Greensmith will drive a privately entered GR Yaris Rally2 car; he has won his category at this event for two consecutive years. Paraguayan drivers Diego Domínguez and Andrea Lafarja will also compete in GR Yaris Rally2 cars. Yuki Yamamoto from the TGR WRC Challenge Program will miss this round as he recovers from an accident during pre-Sweden testing.
The route for this year’s Safari Rally is more compact than before, covering four days and 350.52 competitive kilometers centered around Lake Naivasha, located about two hours northwest of Nairobi. After Thursday morning’s shakedown, competition begins with Camp Moran and Mzabibu stages that are repeated on Friday along with multiple tests near Lake Naivasha. Saturday sees crews move north toward Lake Elmenteita for additional repeated stages before Sunday concludes with two pairs of stages—the final pass through Hell’s Gate serving as the Power Stage.
Juha Kankkunen, Deputy Team Principal at TGR-WRT, said: “I always enjoy going back to Kenya. I have some incredible memories from driving there, and even though the rally is not as long as it used to be, it’s still the toughest one in terms of the terrain. Toyota has always built very strong cars and focused on preparing for these tough events – the main difference today is that it’s not possible to test in Africa for weeks beforehand like we used to in my day. We’ve had some amazing results to start the season, with all five of our crews finishing on the podium at least once, which shows that we have a really strong team. Of course, we would like to achieve a similar result in Kenya, but our main goal will be to try to win the rally again and to score as many points as we can.”
Elfyn Evans commented: “It’s been an incredible start to the year for the team but we certainly can’t underestimate the challenges ahead of us, especially going into a rally like Safari. It can be a really unpredictable event: you can find rocks in the middle of the road or hidden in the grass, and when it rains there can be standing water and zero grip. It’s been a very successful rally for our team, which works hard to give us a strong car with modifications to help us in those tough conditions. Last year’s rally was quite extreme with the weather and I was very happy to get through it and come away with the win for the first time. It won’t be an easy feat to repeat but that will be the target.”
Sébastien Ogier added: “It will be a pleasure to return to Kenya after missing the last two editions of the Safari Rally. I look forward to being back in this beautiful country and seeing the excitement of the African fans, and it’s always a unique experience different to any other rally. It will be my first time being there at this earlier time of year, and it looks like it could be wetter than I’ve seen in the past. How you approach this rally depends a lot on the conditions you face, and these can evolve very quickly. It’s an event you need to start with humility, but the team has been in amazing form and Kenya has been good ground for us in the past, so let’s hope we can achieve another great result.”
Oliver Solberg stated: “Safari Rally Kenya is a rally that I love and I’m looking forward to doing it with the GR YARIS Rally1 car for the first time. It’s a very different type of rally to somewhere like Sweden or Estonia because it’s not about pure speed or finding the ultimate feeling with the car. There are some sections you can attack and have a lot of fun in the car, but you can’t do that everywhere, so you need to try to find a consistent and safe pace. The team has an amazing record in Kenya and we can be confident that the car will be strong. The main goal is to have a clean rally and if you can do that, you can bank some very good points.”
Takamoto Katsuta remarked: “It was enjoyable to be in the fight in Sweden and hopefully I can take this feeling forward to Kenya, even though that will be a very different challenge for everybody. For The Safari you need forget about driving flat-out like in Sweden sacrifice some speed try manage everything Despite this another rally really like seems suit me quite well Our team also been good there they are always providing us strong reliable car those tough conditions special me feel great support confident aim another good result”
Sami Pajari reflected: “Sweden was a really nice rally for me with a solid performance and result but Kenya will be completely different unique challenge Doing first time last year real adventure On some stages more matter surviving others which fast flowing where believe experience playing big role Last clever approach finished fourth good our first hope this year have more speed fight podium positions while still needing smart about where push back-off”
Further information about stage details is available at www.wrc.com.
