Cold sweats for Sébastien Loeb. At the Kenya Grand Prix, where Finland’s Kalle Rovanperä won, the nine-time world champion came close to abandonment after crossing paths with a zebra and then a giraffe on Saturday. It took all the science of piloting the Alsatian, who shared his misadventure on social networks, to avoid the two animals and continue on his way.
Loeb, 48, had to attack to move up the rankings, after suffering a mechanical breakage on Thursday, which pushed him back to the borders of the top 10. During a special, of which he posted an extract on Twitter, he first crossed a zebra, which appeared on the right of the road before turning back, while Loeb had swerved to avoid it. Twenty seconds later, a giraffe crossed the track, forcing him to decelerate to let it pass.
This setback did not suit the Ford driver, who nevertheless won three stages. He eventually finished in eighth place in the rally, more than half an hour behind Rovanperä. The latter, leader of the Toyota brand, has increased his lead at the top of the drivers’ world championship, which he could well be the youngest to win, at only 21 years old.
On the podium, he beat the Briton Elfyn Evans and the Japanese Takamoto Katsuta, while Sébastien Ogier finished fourth.
