› RaceSeven’s Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) win WRC2 at the FIA World Rally Championship’s third round.
› Fabrizio Zaldivar/Marcelo Der Ohannesian bring their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of team Mapo Motorsport home in third position in WRC2.
› Six Škoda crews among the only ten finishers of the category WRC2.
Naivasha (KEN), 23 March 2025 – They did it again: Briton Gus Greensmith and Swedish co-driver Jonas Andersson repeated their WRC2 victory from last year at the Safari Rally Kenya. The RaceSeven entered Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew mastered the extremely difficult conditions on the gravel stages of the Rift Valley and won by a margin of more than three minutes. Third place in WRC2 went to Fabrizo Zaldivar from Paraguay and Italian navigator Marcelo der Ohannesian, who shared a Mapo Motorsport run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
72 years after its first running, the “Safari” once again lived up to its fearsome reputation. As expected, the spring weather at the Equator made the championship’s only African round extremely difficult. While the roads in the Rift Valley were punishing, they were also surprisingly fast in places. The rhythm of the stages changed from flat out over long straights on hard packed or grassy tracks to aquaplaning through mud holes, sometimes more than a hundred metres long. That’s why the regulations allow for this event only the so-called snorkel. This device feeds the engine with air not as usual through the grille but from the roof. The Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars also had their suspension raised to the maximum to handle the rough terrain. In between the water crossings and mud holes, the drivers also had to avoid football-sized boulders in the middle of the road, which caused numerous punctures. Some drivers even got stuck in knee-deep, extremely soft sand called fesh-fesh.
At their first points scoring event of the 2025 season, Gus Greensmith and co-driver Jonas Andersson opted for a careful approach. They brought their RaceSeven run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 trough the first leg without significant problems, reaching Fridays finish in second place in WRC2. “An unresolved issue has made it difficult for me to find my rhythm today, but we are only ten seconds off of the lead with another mammoth day ahead tomorrow,“ Greensmith summed up the first ten stages.
Overnight rain made the Saturday stages even more tricky. Greensmith/Andersson conquered WRC2 top spot, when the overnight leaders damaged their car’s suspension. But a 42-second advantage for the Škoda crew was almost entirely wiped out by a puncture on the very next stage. More time slipped away due to a lack of washer fluid – not exactly helpful in the wet conditions, where mud was thrown onto the windscreen. Greensmith/Andersson had to hand over the WRC2 lead to Spanish duo Jan Solans/Rodrigo Sanjuan. With a storming drive through the leg’s last stage, Greensmith/Andersson regained the lead with only 5.8 seconds separating the top two WRC2 crews on Saturday evening.
When the Spaniards rolled during Sunday’s second stage, the duel between Greensmith/Andersson and Solans/Sanjuan was finally decided. For the remaining three stages, Greensmith kept his head cool and managed the lead. Their brave drive was also rewarded with sixth position in the overall classification.
„To win two years in a row is a great feeling,“ Greensmith commented on his first WRC2 victory since Safari Rally Kenya 2024. „It's by far the toughest Safari I've ever done, I definitely need some sleep tonight! The car's been strong, it needed to have been.“ The 28-year-old Briton takes over second in the WRC2 overall classification.
Fabrizio Zaldivar from Paraguay and Italian co-driver Marcelo der Ohannesian climbed onto the WRC2 podium in third position. The Škoda crew lost over two minutes on Friday when they had to change a wheel on their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. They opened the Saturday leg with two fastest WRC2 stage times only to suffer a broken suspension in the afternoon. But if there is one rally where the “Never give up” rule applies, it’s the “Safari”. Zaldivar/Der Ohannesian brought their battered Škoda back to service, where the Mapo Motorsport mechanics went to work. With a car almost as good as new, the Paraguayan-Italian pairing started into the Sunday leg, which brought no more dramas for them.
Only ten WRC2 competitors reached the finish, among them six Škoda crews. With Greensmith/Andersson and Zaldivar/Der Ohannesian on the podium, Polish duo Daniel Chwist/Kamil Heller (Eurosol Racing Hungary) followed in fourth position. Locals Jeremiah Wahome/Victor Okundi (Eurosol Racing Hungary), Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz/Miquel Ibáñez Sotos from Spain and Kenyan-British crew Samman Singh Vohra/Drew Sturrock (Sheffield Racing Team) took positions eight to ten.
From the vast plains of the Rift Valley and the rough gravel tracks of Kenya, the FIA World Rally Championship heads to the winding asphalt roads of Gran Canaria. The WRC newcomer Rally Islas Canarias is next (24-27 April 2025).
Number of the rally: 3:15.0 and 21:27.2
With 383.10 kilometres of stages, the Safari Rally Kenya not only featured the longest competitive sections of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship. Most likely, also the time differences between the podium positions will not be matched during the rest of the season. In most other events the gaps are measured in seconds. In Kenya, 3:15.0 and 21:27.2 minutes separated P1 from P2 and P3 respectively. Another comparison: The total driving time of around 4:34 hours for Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) was almost two hours longer than that of the WRC2 winners at the Rally Sweden.
Safari Rally Kenya (KEN), 20-23 March 2025, Result WRC2
1 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (GBR/SWE), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, 4:34:15.4 hours
2 Jan Solans/Rodrigo Sanjuan (ESP/ESP), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +3:15.0 minutes
3 Fabrizio Zaldivar/Marcelo Der Ohannesian (PAR/ITA), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +21:27.2 minutes
4 Daniel Chwist/Heller Kamil (POL/POL), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +30:58.1 minutes
5 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (SWE/GBR), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +35:08.3 minutes
6 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (POL/POL), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +53:31.6 minutes
Standings WRC2/Drivers (after 3 of 14 rallies)
1 Oliver Solberg (SWE), Toyota, 35 points
2 Gus Greensmith (UK), Škoda, 25 points
2 Yohan Rossel (FRA), Citroën, 25 points
4 Fabrizio Zaldivar (PAR), Škoda, 23 points
5 Jan Solans (ESP), Toyota, 17 points
6 Roope Korhonen (FIN), Toyota, 17 points
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