How WRC's new Safari adventure ended with a familiar tale

By:

Tom Howard

Jun 28, 2021, 3:51 PM

The World Rally Championship’s delayed return to the Safari Rally was always set throw up some surprises, but aside from a spirited showing by Thierry Neuville it became another painful event for Hyundai in 2021. Once again it was Sebastien Ogier who took full advantage as he completed a stunning comeback drive

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The iconic Safari Rally is one of motorsport's toughest adventures, conjuring up images of rallying's greatest being tested to their limit in Kenya's beautiful but harsh terrain.

While the event's long-awaited return to the World Rally Championship after 19 years wasn't the 1000km marathon of the past on open roads, this shorter 2021 revamp was just as extreme, brutal and rewarding, as Sebastian Ogier will attest. The seven-time champion survived all Kenya could throw at him to etch his name among the greats to have conquered the Safari.

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Tom Howard

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Tom Howard is a News Editor working across both Autosport.com and Motorsport.com websites. Starting out as a sports reporter in local newspapers, Tom focussed on motorsport covering several national championships in the UK, including the BTCC.

After a period working as a freelance journalist, Tom moved to Australia in 2013 landing a job at leading Australian motorsport news outlet speedcafe.com, covering international motorsport events including F1, WRC and Supercars. Progressing to Editor in 2017, Tom was named Motorsport Australia Journalist of the Year for his work. He is also a two-time winner of Supercars Journalist of The Year (2017,2019) and a Supercars Championship Media Award winner in 2019.

Tom moved back to his native UK in 2020, firstly working in BTCC, before joining Autosport and motorsport.com in 2021.