DOLGELLAU’S Elfyn Evans endured a bruising Safari Rally Kenya but emerged still leading the FIA World Rally Championship after a weekend that punished almost every frontrunner.

The Welshman had arrived in Africa aiming to consolidate his strong start to the season, but the notoriously harsh conditions struck on Saturday morning when deep mud caused suspension damage that forced him to retire from the leg.

The third stage on Saturday proved decisive for many of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s leading contenders, with Evans, Sébastien Ogier and Oliver Solberg all hitting trouble.

For Evans, the impact was immediate and terminal for the day: the suspension failure left him unable to continue, ending any hope of challenging for overall victory.

He restarted on Sunday to salvage points, and despite difficult conditions on the opening stage, he fought back to take a stage win and finish third in both the Super Sunday and Power Stage classifications.

Evans admitted the weekend had been “tough”, acknowledging that even a cautious approach could not guarantee survival on the most demanding Safari of the modern era.

“We tried to use our head but still we weren’t able to get the car through the whole rally,” he said. “I’m a bit disappointed with today also… we didn’t get as many points as we would have liked.

“I’m pleased to still be leading the championship, and we can look forward to Croatia.”

Despite the setbacks, Evans’ damage limitation proved crucial. With Solberg and Takamoto Katsuta—who claimed his maiden WRC victory—also scoring strongly, the championship battle tightened, but Evans retains an eight‑point lead over Solberg, with Katsuta a further three behind. Toyota also remain firmly ahead in the manufacturers’ standings.

Evans now turns his attention to Croatia Rally, where a return to asphalt offers a chance to reset after a punishing African test.