16 Mar Domínguez-Peñate and Lafarja–Maune with podiums in WRC2 Challenger and the WRC Masters Cup at Safari Rally Kenya 2026
Andrea Lafarja and Germán Maune secure a historic podium in the WRC Masters Cup at the Safari Rally Kenya 2026
Andrea Lafarja and Germán Maune began their participation in the Safari Rally Kenya competing in the WRC2 Challenger and WRC Masters Cup categories, taking on one of the toughest events on the World Rally Championship calendar.
Thursday featured the first two stages of the rally, where the duo quickly experienced the harsh conditions of the African event. During the 25-kilometre Camp Moran stage, rain made driving particularly difficult. However, in the second and final stage of the day they regained confidence and completed a cleaner run, ending the day in third position in the WRC Masters Cup.
Friday began with the cancellation of the first stage due to heavy rain. Even so, Lafarja and Maune started the day in the best possible way by taking victory in SS4 Loldia within the WRC Masters Cup. Everything was going well until, at the end of the Kengen stage, a wheel stud broke, forcing them to stop to repair it and taking them out of contention for the day, with their focus on continuing on Saturday.
Saturday, considered the toughest day of the rally, saw Lafarja and Maune return to the stages with determination, claiming victory on the Soysambu stage and moving into third position in the WRC Masters Cup at the end of the first loop.
During the afternoon, the duo found a rhythm that allowed them to drive more comfortably while prioritising caution in extremely demanding conditions. With that strategy they managed to win three of the four stages on Saturday and ended the leg provisionally in third position in the WRC Masters Cup.
On the final day, the main objective was simply to finish this demanding rally, and Andrea Lafarja and Germán Maune achieved it, securing third position in the WRC Masters Cup and therefore their first podium of the season.
Andrea Lafarja (DRIVER): “This is not only my dream, but the dream of all Paraguayans. We fought with all our strength and achieved this third place in the WRC Masters Cup. Today Paraguay has a woman on a WRC podium for the first time in history. I’m very happy and emotional, and I want to thank everyone who helped me get here”.
German Maune (CODRIVER): “We’re very happy to have achieved our first podium in our first event of the season, especially in such a tough and demanding rally. This gives us confidence for the next rallies, where we will once again give our all”.
Teo Martín (TEAM MANAGER): ”Andrea and Germán delivered a fantastic performance, securing a historic podium in the WRC Masters Cup and demonstrating great adaptability in very challenging conditions. Starting the season with two podiums in a rally of this caliber is a very positive result, giving us strong motivation and confidence to tackle the upcoming championship events”.
Diego Domínguez and Rogelio Peñate claim their first podium of the season at the Safari Rally Kenya, finishing third in the WRC2 Challenger category.
The Safari Rally Kenya started in the best possible way for Diego Domínguez and Rogelio Peñate, who set the fastest time in WRC2 during the shakedown.
After the first two stages of the rally, the Domínguez–Peñate duo ended Thursday in first position in WRC2 Challenger and second in WRC2, also securing a stage win in SS2.
Friday started with the cancellation of the first stage due to the poor condition of the route. In SS4, at kilometer 6, Diego Domínguez and Rogelio Peñate encountered Romet Jürgenson stopped with problems, blocking the way just as they were making up time in the split sections. After several minutes stopped, they were able to continue to the finish. Even so, they completed the first Friday loop with one of the three best times in WRC2 and WRC2 Challenger.
At the start of the second Friday loop, Diego and Rogelio suffered a puncture on the front-right wheel, which cost them more than a minute and dropped them to fourth position in WRC2 and third in WRC2 Challenger.
However, in the final stage of the day the Domínguez–Peñate duo once again showed their speed by setting another fastest time in both categories, ending the day third in WRC2 Challenger and fourth in WRC2.
Saturday was an even more demanding day, marked by mud and difficult terrain conditions. Even in that scenario, and despite power issues at SS14, Domínguez and Peñate remained running among the top three in WRC2 Challenger, additionally achieving a new stage win in SS15 Elmenteita II. Their strong pace and effort allowed them to finish the second stage in podium positions in WRC2 Challenger, ready to tackle the final day.
On Sunday the good results continued, with another fastest time in SS19 Oserengoni. They completed Safari Rally Kenya in third position in WRC2 Challenger and fifth position in WRC2. With this result, Diego Domínguez and Rogelio Peñate secured their first podium of the season.
Diego Domínguez (DRIVER): “We’re very happy to reach the finish and in fifth position in WRC2. Without some of the issues we had, I think we could have been fighting for the win. In the end this is rallying and these things happen, but we showed that we have the pace to fight at the front. We won several stages, so we’re very happy to finish the first rally of the season here”.
Rogelio Peñate (CODRIVER): “We start the season with a podium. We finished Safari Rally Kenya in third position in WRC2 Challenger and fifth in WRC2. We’re very happy with the pace we showed this weekend. We achieved four stage wins and we’re confident that this year we will fight for great results”.
Teo Martín (TEAM MANAGER): “Diego and Rogelio showed a very competitive pace throughout the weekend, constantly battling among the top WRC2 drivers and achieving four stage wins that reflect their high level. Starting the season with two podiums in a rally of this caliber is a very positive result, giving us great motivation and confidence to face the upcoming championship events”.
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