Portugal Colonial - Careful Evans pounces as Safari Rally Kenya grinds down rivals

Evans was not the fastest on any of the eight stages but ended the day 7.7sec ahead of Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanpera, who suffered a costly spin.

Ott Tanak, who suffered mechanical problems when leading by 46.1sec, was third, and defending champion Thierry Neuville, hit with a string of penalties, finished in fourth.

"It's been a difficult day and we've erred on the side of caution," said Evans.

"Obviously some guys have had trouble, which is unfortunate, but it's part of the Safari. It's 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."

Rovanpera spun on a narrow section of the day's fourth stage and lost time as he turned the car to face forward again.

Tanak, the overnight leader, started the day strongly, winning the marathon 32.30km opening stage and three of the next five.

His Hyundai suffered a driveshaft problem on the penultimate stage that left him with only rear-wheel drive. Tanak lost over a minute on that stage and another 42sec on the day's closer.

"It's a shame for Ott, obviously, to have a mechanical like that. You never know in this game if it's because the car has had an impact or if it's just a standard failure," said Evans. "He was going well."

Neuville started the day by collecting a one-minute penalty when he was late after a gearbox change. He was later hit with a 10sec penalty after needing a jump start and a further 50sec penalty when he was late for the day's sixth stage.

Saturday's racing covers six stages totalling 146.50km.

P.L.Madureira--PC