Rovanperä thanks Toyota team for ’ultimate’ Safari performance

The two-time world champion was unbeaten through Friday’s opening full day of competition, establishing a lead that would never come close to being toppled. His GR Yaris Rally1 ran without fault through the event to deliver a fourth straight African success for the Japanese manufacturer.

Rovanperä said: “I want to say a big thanks to the team, because everybody made a big effort to make the car work so well. I think we did a good job, I think you cannot do a better Safari than what we did, with no issues and clever driving.

“It was quite a tough weekend,” he continued. “I think every year the rally is a bit different, but this one was definitely more rough after the rain. On the other hand, I am really happy with how we did it - managing the whole pace and the lead from the start of the event and driving really clean for the whole weekend.

”It was clear in those conditions that you could have a lot of issues, but it was nice to see that we didn’t have those. The plan was always to drive really clean and I think I took really good care of the car - it was all the time in really good condition"

The Finn admitted his second win on the Naivasha-based event was a big moment, adding: “It’s special to be able to win the Safari for the second time. This event is so tough and it’s also a legendary one for Toyota: we have always been good here and we are still continuing that record.

“Like they say in Africa, the car in front is always a Toyota.”