Elfyn Evans, Dani Sordo, Oliver Solberg and Lorenzo Bertelli were all sidelined during the three rugged and sandy speed tests on the southern shore of Lake Naivasha. Championship leader Sébastien Ogier limped back to service after heavy time losses.
Neuville won the tight and twisty Chui Lodge and the blisteringly fast Kedong. Rovanperä spoiled the Belgian’s hopes of a clean sweep by topping the times in Oserian before the survivors returned for well-earned service in Naivasha.
“I didn’t feel like I was pushing really hard, I just felt quite comfortable in the car and tried to be as efficient as I could,” explained Neuville, who still had time for an overshoot. “I was driving with quite a high ride height to try and protect the car, but the negative point of that is it’s quite easy to roll,”
Rovanperä was left breathless by the morning’s action. “It’s incredible! I’ve never driven on this type of stage before. There’s so much dust in the car I can’t breathe,” said the Finn, who punctured in Kedong.
Ott Tänak was 26.2sec off the lead in third in another i20. The Estonian’s cautious policy was clear to see: “The only target was not to damage the car,” he said.
Takamoto Katsuta was fourth in a Yaris. He stalled the engine in Chui Lodge and struggled to explain the difficulty of the stages. “It’s quite a….I don’t know, I just can’t find the words for it!” he said.
SS6 COMPLETE: NEUVILLE BACK ON TOP
- SS6 is complete here at Safari Rally Kenya, meaning there’s just one stage left to complete today.
- Thierry Neuville pulled himself back into the rally lead after Kedong 2. The Belgian was 11.2sec faster than closest challenger Kalle Rovanperä, despite arriving at the stage end with a punctured tyre.
- Sébastien Ogier is climbing his way back up the leaderboard after mechanical maladies slowed him this morning. Ogier was third on the stage, and moved into sixth ahead of fellow Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux.
- Gus Greensmith was another driver to suffer a puncture. He was 34.4sec off the leading pace, and lies just 2.2sec of Ogier in the standings.
- Up next: SS7, Oserian 2, gets going at 1555hrs (local time).
STANDINGS AFTER SS6 /18
| POS. | DRIVER | TIME | |
| 1. | Neuville |  |
1hr 09min 47.2sec |
| 2. | Rovanperä |  |
+10.0sec |
| 3. | Tänak | |
+40.7sec |
| 4. | Katsuta | |
+58.6sec |
| 5. | Greensmith |  |
+2min 27.0sec |
| 6. | Ogier | |
+2min 29.2sec |