NAIROBI, Kenya, March 14, 2026 – Elfyn Evans suffered a huge setback in his bid for a second straight Safari Rally title, retiring at the 13th stage of the ongoing World Rally Championship (WRC) competition on Saturday morning.
The Welshman suffered a damage to the rear right suspension of his Toyota Yaris, halfway through Sleeping Warrior (18.41km).
At that point, Evans had been sitting pretty in second in the overall standings, despite a frustrating start to Day Three of the competition.
A double puncture at SS12 (Elementaita) had seen him finish in seventh, 20.7 seconds slower than Sebastien Ogier, who cruised to victory.
The Frenchman himself, had to pull out all stops to rescue a campaign, which seemed on the brink of collapse.
The 2021 Safari Rally champion was forced to stop at Soysambu (24.94km) to change a wheel, which cost him two minutes and relegated him to fifth overall — albeit temporarily.
Ogier recovered to triumph in Elementaita, adding to that impressive comeback win with another one at the Sleeping Warrior, in which he stopped the clock at 11:32.3.
Irishman Jon Armstrong was second, timing 16.2 seconds slower as another Toyota driver, Takamoto Katsuta, who came third — 29.4 seconds slower.
Oliver Solberg, despite finish fifth at Sleeping Warrior, still leads the overall standings, ahead of Ogier and Katsuta, who sit second and third, respectively.
