NAIVASHA, Kenya, June 24 – Day 2 of the punishing Kedong Fesh Fesh proved to be a hard nut to crack for many drivers as the dust challenged their prowess.
But what exactly is Fesh Fesh?
Well, this is a term given to sections of a road that is so dry that the particles disintegrate and allow anything lighter than it to sink into its base.
Fesh Fesh is rally driver worst enemy as no one can tell how deep it is nor can you know what is hidden under it.
Try imagine driving that around 160km/h and hitting a rock hidden in the fesh fesh and putting into consideration this is a competition amongst the fastest, where every second counts it can make the difference of one losing a lot of valuable time trying to struggle through it.
Woe unto the drivers is if the heavens decide to open and bless us with some rain. The same fesh feah, will slowly turn into sludge or sticky mud.
As for now, the clouds don’t seem to have any sinister intentions so it’s safe to say fesh feah will continue to rain.
-Who came out stronger?
With one loop round the Kedong Ranch under their belt, the long starting list from earlier this morning has been trimmed to size.
From the 34 drivers who set off with the ambition of setting the fastest times and conquering the unbeaten Kedong Fesh Fesh only 30 might get a second chance to set the record straight.
Kenya’s Raajpal Singh Bharij, Jerimiah Wahome, Stephen Mwangi, Minesh Rathod and Piero Cannobio have the advantage of “super rally” to head back to the service park, fix their cars and attempt to do it all over again on Day 3 on Saturday.
A quick run through Kedong shows deep ruts stretching a couple of meters.
While most of the WRC 1 drivers will sail through the suspicious sections, no one really knows what lies beneath the surface.
The end of SS7 marks the end of day two of the rally, one of the hardest days and stages of the 2022 WRC Safari Rally.
-Day 3 –
Day three gives you the chance to travel closer to the town known for its soft juicy nyama choma; Kikopey which is the gateway to Sleeping warrior, Elementaita and Soysambu stages.
These are the options you have for on Saturday and all have a designated spectator stages with as we shift gears into the third day of the 2022 WRC Safari Rally.
Looking back at loop one, Elfyn Evans was the fastest in the first lap in Kedong in SS7 with a time of 42:06.9 closely followed by Sebastien Ogier, Kalle Rovanpera, Toyota Gazoo Racings Takamoto Katsuta and Sebastien Loeb.
