WRC 2
Virves holds firm in WRC2
Estonia’s Robert Virves stands on the verge of a famous WRC2 victory at Safari Rally Kenya, successfully navigating a chaotic and bruising Saturday to build a 55.3sec advantage over Gus Greensmith.
In a day where survival was the ultimate prize, Virves kept his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 out of major trouble through the deep mud and tyre-destroying ruts, maintaining a measured pace to protect his lead. The Estonian admitted that leading the rally was incredibly stressful, noting that it was one of the worst places to be as he found himself looking out for every potential hazard on the road.
Gus Greensmith remains firmly in the hunt in second place, despite a rollercoaster afternoon loop. The British driver suffered a rear-right puncture on the second pass of Soysambu but responded with one of the standout drives of the afternoon on Elmenteita 2. Brushing off his struggles from the morning pass, Greensmith clocked the sixth-fastest time overall on the stage, impressively beating three top-tier Rally1 cars in the process and ensuring the gap to Virves was trimmed to exactly 55.3sec.
Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zaldivar occupies the final podium spot, sitting 1min 1.7sec off the lead in his Škoda. Zaldivar delivered a strong run through the afternoon but reported underlying mechanical issues with his car late in the day, forcing him to focus on simply reaching the overnight halt.
He holds a 40.6sec buffer over returning WRC2 champion Andreas Mikkelsen, who sits fourth. Mikkelsen lamented the cancellation of the day-ending Sleeping Warrior stage, jokingly noting that he had come for the "full Safari experience" and wanted to tackle the notoriously muddy test.
Diego Domínguez delivered fireworks of his own to take fifth place overnight, trailing Mikkelsen by 33.4sec. The Paraguayan claimed a commanding WRC2 stage win on Elmenteita 2, going 11.5 seconds quicker than Greensmith's benchmark, remarkably achieving the feat having earlier battled an engine misfire. Poland's Daniel Chwist successfully survived the carnage to round out the top six in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
