The much-awaited WRC Safari Rally 2026 began yesterday in Naivasha, full of challenges in the opening two stages of Camp Moran 1 and Mzabibu, with Swedish Oliver Solberg leading Toyota Gazoo, scooping the top 5 positions.
Drivers cruised through the slippery and muddy Camp Moran 1 stage, which witnessed a lot of time wasting among all the drivers.
Drivers struggled to navigate through the conditions, but Solberg seemed to be comfortable with the conditions.
It was, however, a different tale in the 2nd stage at Mzabibu 1, which was dry and dusty, allowing drivers to recover the time wasted in the first stage.
It was Toyota Gazoo who carried the day, scooping the top five spots and taking an overnight manufacturers lead.
After the end of day 1, Solberg said, “Incredibly tough conditions out there, but Elliott and I love the challenge. A stage win and ending the day leading the rally! The feeling in my Toyota GR Yaris Rally 1 is amazing.
Two-time Safari Rally champion Frenchman Sebastien Ogier gave his insights of the day: “You know you’re going to lose time, but you can’t get yourself too frustrated, can you? No, you can’t, so you know that it’s, yeah, it’s going to not be seconds that you lose but probably minutes, and of course, it’s hard to start a race like this.”
Hyundai driver Belgian Thierry Neuville termed the Camp Moran stage more challenging than last year’s.
“That was close to being maybe the most tricky stage I have ever done. Um, and yeah, um, yeah, we obviously had quite a big time loss there, but yeah, I guess it was not getting any better for the cars in the back.”
The sentiments were similar for M-Sport Ford Puma, who referred to the Camp Moran stage as crazy.
“That first stage was just crazy, especially the first 10 km. I think you would have been better off on a boat! But we made it through okay.”
The rally has entered day two with 7 competition stages on the card after the cancellation of the Camp Moran 2 due to the deterioration of the road following a heavy downpour.
