The 2026 Safari Rally (also known as the Safari Rally Kenya 2026) was a motor racing event for rally cars held over four days from 12 to 15 March 2026. It marked the seventy-fourth running of the Safari Rally, and was the third round of the 2026 World Rally Championship, 2026 WRC2 Championship and 2026 WRC3 Championship. The 2026 event was based in Naivasha in the Nakuru County, and was consisted of twenty special stages, covering a total competitive distance of .
Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin were the defending rally winners, and Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the defending manufacturer's winners. Gus Greensmith and Jonas Andersson were the defending rally winners in the WRC2 championship. Nikhil Sachania and Deep Patel were the defending rally winners in the WRC3 championship.
Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston took their maiden victory, and Toyota successfully defended their title. Robert Virves and Jakko Viilo were the winners in the WRC2 category. Georgios Vasilakis and Allan Harryman were the winners in the WRC3 category.
Background Entry list The following crews entered into the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories, the WRC2 Championship, the WRC3 Championship and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Ten crews entered under Rally1 regulations, as were fifteen Rally2 crews in the WRC2 Championship and four Rally3 crews in the WRC3 Championship.
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Championship eligibility Tyre 1 Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 4 Esapekka Lappi Enni Mälkönen Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 5 Sami Pajari Marko Salminen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer, Team 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 16 Adrien Fourmaux Alexandre Coria Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 18 Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 55 Josh McErlean Eoin Treacy M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 95 Jon Armstrong Shane Byrne M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 99 Oliver Solberg Elliott Edmondson Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer + No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Championship eligibility Tyre 20 Gus Greensmith Jonas Andersson Gus Greensmith Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 Driver, Co-driver 21 Robert Virves Jakko Viilo Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team 22 Andreas Mikkelsen Jørn Listerud Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team 23 Fabrizio Zaldivar Marcelo Der Ohannesian Fabrizio Zaldivar Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 24 Romet Jürgenson Siim Oja M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 25 Diego Domínguez Jr. Rogelio Peñate Diego Domínguez Jr. Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 26 Daniel Chwist Kamil Heller Daniel Chwist Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 27 Karan Patel Tauseef Khan Karan Patel Škoda Fabia R5 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 28 Carl Tundo Tim Jessop Carl Tundo Ford Fiesta R5 Challenger/Master Driver, Challenger Co-driver 29 Samman Singh Vohra Drew Sturrock Samman Singh Vohra Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 30 Jeremiah Wahome Victor Okundi Jeremiah Wahome Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 31 Andrea Lafarja Germán Maune Andrea Lafarja Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver 32 Issa Amwari Dennis Mwenda Issa Amwari Škoda Fabia R5 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 34 Aakif Virani Zahir Shah Aakif Virani Škoda Fabia R5 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver 40 Hamza Anwar Chaudry Mudasar Hamza Anwar Ford Fiesta R5 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver + No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Class/Championship eligibility Tyre 36 Nataniel Bruun Sergio Fernández Guerra Nataniel Bruun Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC3 37 Georgios Vasilakis Allan Harryman Georgios Vasilakis Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC3, Masters Driver, Masters Co-Driver 38 Naveen Puligilla Musa Sherif Naveen Puligilla Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC3 39 Nikhil Sachania Deep Patel Nikhil Sachania Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC3
Itinerary All dates and times are EAT (UTC+3). Date No. Time span Stage name Distance 12 March — After 8:01 Nawisa [Shakedown] 6.31 km After 15:00 Opening ceremony, WRTI Naivasha SS1 After 16:05 Camp Moran 1 24.35 km SS2 After 17:23 Mzabibu 1 8.86 km 18:23 – 19:08 Service A, WRTI Naivasha 13 March SS3 After 8:03 Camp Moran 2 24.35 km SS4 After 9:06 Loldia 1 25.04 km SS5 After 10:24 Kengen Geothermal 1 13.16 km SS6 After 11:17 Kedong 1 13.79 km 11:57 – 12:57 Regroup, WRTI Naivasha 12:57 – 13:27 Service B, WRTI Naivasha SS7 After 14:00 Kedong 1 13.79 km SS8 After 14:58 Kengen Geothermal 1 13.16 km SS9 After 15:56 Loldia 1 25.04 km SS10 After 16:59 Mzabibu 2 8.86 km 17:59 – 18:44 Flexi service C, WRTI Naivasha 14 March SS11 After 8:35 Soysambu 1 24.94 km SS12 After 9:35 Elmenteita 1 18.01 km SS13 After 10:33 Sleeping Warrior 1 18.01 km 12:30 – 13:15 Regroup, WRTI Naivasha 13:15 – 13:45 Service D, WRTI Naivasha SS14 After 15:05 Soysambu 2 24.94 km SS15 After 16:05 Elmenteita 2 18.01 km SS16 After 17:03 Sleeping Warrior 2 18.01 km 19:28 – 20:13 Flexi service E, WRTI Naivasha 15 March SS17 After 8:09 Oserengoni 1 18.22 km SS18 After 9:35 Hell's Gate 1 10.48 km SS19 After 10:38 Oserengoni 2 18.22 km 11:47 – 12:50 Regroup, WRTI Naivasha SS20 After 13:15 Hell's Gate 2 [Power Stage] 10.53 km After 14:15 Podium ceremony, WSTI Naivasha After 15:50 Finish, WSTI Naivasha Source:
Report WRC Rally1 Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Sunday Stage Total 1 1 18 Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:16:05.6 0.0 25 0 0 25 2 2 16 Adrien Fourmaux Alexandre Coria Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:16:33.0 +27.4 17 1 1 19 3 3 5 Sami Pajari Marko Salminen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:20:31.7 +4:26.1 15 0 0 15 4 4 4 Esapekka Lappi Enni Mälkönen Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:22:12.9 +6:07.3 12 0 0 12 10 5 99 Oliver Solberg Elliott Edmondson Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:32:50.1 +16:44.5 1 5 5 11 11 6 1 Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:33:36.3 +17:30.7 0 4 4 8 12 7 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:35:58.0 +19:52.4 0 2 2 4 13 8 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:42:26.5 +26:20.9 0 3 3 6 15 9 95 Jon Armstrong Shane Byrne M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 4:04:06.7 +48:01.1 0 0 0 0 Retired SS17 55 Josh McErlean Eoin Treacy M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Engine 0 0 0 0 Source:
Special stages Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders SD Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 4:33.1 SS1 Solberg / Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 22:56.2 Solberg / Edmondson SS2 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 7:18.2 SS3 Stage cancelled SS4 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 14:18.8 Solberg / Edmondson SS5 Pajari / Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 6:53.3 SS6 Pajari / Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 6:22.6 SS7 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 6:24.4 SS8 Pajari / Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 6:50.2 SS9 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 14:14.1 SS10 Pajari / Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 7:07.8 SS11 Solberg / Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 15:18.9 SS12 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 11:16.3 SS13 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 11:32.3 SS14 Fourmaux / Coria Hyundai i20 N Rally1 15:12.8 Katsuta / Johnston SS15 Pajari / Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 10:45.3 SS16 Stage cancelled SS17 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 11:18.9 Katsuta / Johnston SS18 Evans / Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 5:32.4 SS19 Solberg / Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 10:58.1 SS20 Solberg / Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 5:32.2 Source:
Championship standings
+MoveDriverPoints 1 Elfyn Evans 66 2 Oliver Solberg 58 3 Takamoto Katsuta 55 4 Adrien Fourmaux 47 2 5 Sami Pajari 32
+MoveDriverPoints 1 Scott Martin 66 2 Elliott Edmondson 58 3 Aaron Johnston 55 4 Alexandre Coria 47 2 5 Marko Salminen 32
+MoveDriverPoints 1 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 157 2 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 114 3 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 35 4 M-Sport Ford WRT 23
WRC2 Rally2 Classification Position Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Class Event 5 1 21 Robert Virves Jakko Viilo Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 3:27:44.3 0.0 25 10 6 2 20 Gus Greensmith Jonas Andersson Gus Greensmith Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 3:28:14.6 +30.3 17 8 7 3 23 Fabrizio Zaldivar Marcelo Der Ohannesian Fabrizio Zaldivar Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 3:28:25.6 +41.3 15 6 8 4 22 Andreas Mikkelsen Jørn Listerud Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 3:28:36.3 +52.0 12 4 9 5 25 Diego Domínguez Jr. Rogelio Peñate Diego Domínguez Jr. Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 3:29:34.0 +1:49.7 10 2 14 6 26 Daniel Chwist Kamil Heller Daniel Chwist Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 4:01:42.3 +33:58.0 8 0 17 7 27 Karan Patel Tauseef Khan Karan Patel Škoda Fabia R5 4:26:54.7 +59:10.4 6 0 18 8 34 Aakif Virani Zahir Shah Aakif Virani Škoda Fabia R5 4:43:06.7 +1:15:22.4 4 0 19 9 29 Samman Singh Vohra Drew Sturrock Samman Singh Vohra Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 4:46:47.1 +1:19:02.8 2 0 20 10 31 Andrea Lafarja Germán Maune Andrea Lafarja Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 5:04:23.9 +1:36:39.6 1 0 Retired SS19 24 Romet Jürgenson Siim Oja M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 Technical 0 0 Retired SS17 40 Hamza Anwar Chaudry Mudasar Hamza Anwar Ford Fiesta R5 Mechanical 0 0 Source:
Special stages
+ Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders SD Mikkelsen / Listerud Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 4:53.9 SS1 Zaldivar / Der Ohannesian Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 26:10.9 Zaldivar / Der Ohannesian SS2 Domínguez Jr. / Peñate Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 7:40.8 Greensmith / Andersson SS3 Stage cancelled SS4 Mikkelsen / Listerud Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 14:53.5 Greensmith / Andersson SS5 Greensmith / Andersson Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 7:29.8 SS6 Mikkelsen / Listerud Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 6:52.9 SS7 Zaldivar / Der Ohannesian Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 6:32.2 Virves / Viilo SS8 Zaldivar / Der Ohannesian Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 7:23.0 SS9 Mikkelsen / Listerud Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 14:52.3 SS10 Domínguez Jr. / Peñate Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 7:22.7 SS11 Mikkelsen / Listerud Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 16:28.2 SS12 Mikkelsen / Listerud Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 11:58.9 SS13 Stage cancelled SS14 Mikkelsen / Listerud Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 15:53.9 Virves / Viilo SS15 Domínguez Jr. / Peñate Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 11:10.3 SS16 Stage cancelled SS17 Mikkelsen / Listerud Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 12:03.7 Virves / Viilo SS18 Mikkelsen / Listerud Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 6:02.4 SS19 Domínguez Jr. / Peñate Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 11:55.2 SS20 Zaldivar / Der Ohannesian Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 6:02.3 Source: