FIA World Rally Championship leader Elfyn Evans led Safari Rally Kenya after a dramatic and attritional Friday leg, as frontrunner Ott Tänak fell foul of mechanical problems in the searing African heat.

In true Safari fashion, few crews emerged unscathed from the rallys first full day, which featured eight brutal gravel speed tests across the Great Rift Valley. Over half the Rally1 field suffered issues a stark reminder of the rallys unforgiving nature.

Tänak had looked unstoppable early on, storming to four stage wins and opening up a lead of nearly one minute. But disaster struck in the afternoon when a driveshaft failure left his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 with only rear-wheel drive. The Estonian hemorrhaged time across the final two tests, dropping to third overall with an overnight deficit of 55.4sec.

That opened the door for Toyota GAZOO Racings Evans, who steadily climbed the order in his GR Yaris Rally1 with a clean and consistent performance despite not setting a single fastest time.

The Welshman, who arrived in Kenya with a 28-point championship lead, ended the day with a slender buffer over team-mate Kalle Rovanperä a rear-right tire deflation near the finish of the final stage being his only notable scare.

Rovanperä was 7.7 seconds adrift in second and might have been leading himself but for a spin on a particularly narrow section of the Kedong stage, which saw him lose time trying to get his car pointed in the right direction. Aside from that mishap, the Finn also enjoyed a relatively drama-free day.

Its been a difficult day and weve erred on the side of caution, said Evans. Obviously some guys have had trouble, which is unfortunate, but its part of the Safari. Its a bit frustrating sometimes because you feel like you can take a bit more risk and go a bit faster, but I keep reminding myself where we are.

Its a shame for Ott, obviously, to have a mechanical [failure] like that. You never know in this game if its because the car has had an impact or if its just a standard failure, but its a shame for him because he was going well.

Tänak wasnt the only Hyundai driver to hit trouble. Reigning champion Thierry Neuvilles day began with a one-minute penalty after his i20 N was delayed leaving service due to a gearbox change. More issues followed including a jump start (+10 seconds), a debeaded tire, and a further 50-second penalty for lateness to SS8 after another technical glitch. Despite the setbacks, Neuville reached the overnight halt in fourth, 36 seconds behind Tänak.

Adrien Fourmaux, who had rejoined under restart rules following an electrical issue on Thursday, retired again when a front-right steering arm broke on SS7. The Frenchman had been nursing a puncture and drove almost 10 kilometers with the flailing tire before the suspension finally gave way.

It wasnt a smooth ride for Toyotas Takamoto Katsuta either. Tire damage early in the day put him out of contention, and a similar issue in the Geothermal test cost more time. He ended Friday fifth overall, more than four minutes off the lead.

Just behind was team-mate Sami Pajari, also delayed by tire woes, while seventh-placed Josh McErlean led M-Sport Fords charge after an eventful afternoon. The Irishman battled through problems that included a squashed exhaust and a boot floor punctured by a loose spare wheel.

WRC2 leader Kajetan Kajetanowicz sat eighth overall after seizing the top spot from Oliver Solberg, who got stuck in a deep section of fesh-fesh on SS7. The Pole, driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 for the first time, held a narrow advantage over category rivals Gus Greensmith and Jan Solans.