Rovanpera set a blistering tempo throughout the day’s six levels aboard his manufacturing unit Toyota to steer team-mate Elfyn Evans by 56.9s heading into Saturday.
Takamoto Katsuta ended the day in third [+1m00.8s] to arrange a provisional Toyota 1-2-3 after a nightmare day for Hyundai.
Lappi had trailed Rovanpera by 15.5s heading into the afternoon earlier than a transmission problem ended the Rally Sweden winner’s day prematurely. That handed Tanak second spot earlier than the Estonian crashed out on the next stage.
Championship chief Thierry Neuville, piloting the remaining Hyundai, survived a puncture on stage three to finish Friday in fourth [+1m07.3s], in entrance of the M-Sport-Ford duo Adrien Fourmaux [1m46.6s] and Gregoire Munster [+3m34.2s].
Circumstances remained sizzling into Friday afternoon, however the clear skies have been changed by ominous gray clouds.
Rovanpera continued his spectacular tempo from the morning loop by claiming his fourth consecutive stage win within the second move by way of the Loldia [19.17km] check.
The Finn was nonetheless not overly pleased together with his effort however was capable of pip Toyota team-mates Evans and Katsuta, who posted an identical instances, to win the stage by 0.6s. Each Evans and Katsuta have been a lot happier with the dealing with of their GR Yaris entries.
This meant Rovanpera was capable of lengthen his general rally lead, though the id of his nearest rival had modified.
Lappi began stage 5 trailing Rovanpera by 15.5s however his hopes of victory have been shortly extinguished. The Finn suffered a small affect 9 kilometres into the tough gravel stage which broken his transmission, forcing him onto the sidelines.
Lappi’s Hyundai team-mate Tanak jumped into second general, 18.6s behind chief Rovanpera. Tanak was 1.8s slower than Rovanpera within the check however revealed that his crew had been unable to work on his automotive in service as a result of extent of the harm on team-mate Neuville’s i20 N, following his puncture this morning.
“[Lappi out,] that may be a disgrace, massive disgrace. For us, a troublesome stage as soon as once more,” stated Tanak. “Thierry’s automotive took a lot work that they could not work on our automotive. Let’s examine if we will work on it ourselves.”
Grateful his crew was capable of restore his automotive, Neuville was fifth quickest on the stage behind Fourmaux, who confirmed the primary flashes of robust tempo in his M-Sport Ford Puma.
Nonetheless, Hyundai’s Safari Rally hoodoo struck once more in stage six [Geothermal, 13.12km], this time it was Tanak to hit terminal bother.
The 2019 world champion hit a rock sitting in the midst of the street which launched the entrance of his i20N into the air, earlier than coming to blows with an earth financial institution. Whereas Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja have been unharmed, the affect broken the steering of their Hyundai that had been occupying second place.
Tanak’s demise handed Rovanpera a wholesome 46.4s lead after the Finn’s 100% Friday stage-winning streak continued. Rovanpera was 4.5s faster than team-mate Katsuta by way of the rocky stage, whereas Evans was an additional three seconds slower.
Munster made essentially the most of cleaner street to put up the fourth finest time forward of Fourmaux and Neuville. The latter was fortunate to outlive an enormous second that might simply have despatched the Hyundai right into a ditch.
Rain fell earlier than the beginning of the ultimate stage, however circumstances have been moderately dry by the point the crews tackled the 31.50km Kedong check.
Rovanpera as soon as once more proved to be the category of the sphere, posting a time 4.4s quicker than street opener Neuville to finish a clear sweep of the day’s levels.
Evans managed to leapfrog Katsuta into second general after the latter missed a junction that contributed to him ceding 8.7s to his rival.
In WRC2, Toksport Skoda driver Gus Greensmith battled a abdomen bug to finish the day in seventh general [+6m51.3s]. The British driver held a 3m23.0s lead over nearest WRC2 rival Kejetan Kajetanowicz.
The Safari Rally continues on Saturday with the sphere set to sort out the longest leg of the occasion, comprising 160.96 kilometres of timed levels.
Watch: Safari Rally Kenya Friday Morning Highlights