- The World Rally Championship is a popular event where top automotive competitors often pit their wits against each other
- Like any other sport, money talks are important in the WRC, with its drivers well paid according to their contracts
- We take a look at how much some drivers are earning as activity in Naivasha enters the second day with bad weather
The 2026 Safari Rally started on Thursday afternoon with the Deputy President Kithur Kindiki launching vehicles at the Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) in Naivasha.
Source: Instagram
The third round of the 2026 World Touring Car Championship (WRC) continues until Sunday where drivers will compete at the Wolf Power Stadium in Hell’s Gate.
WRC drivers often have very demanding schedules and are well paid according to the contracts they negotiate with their franchises.
How much do drivers of the World Car Championship earn?
According to many reports, Thierry Neuville is the highest paid driver in the WRC this season. The Belgian driver who competes for Hyundai Motorsport earns about $2 million per season (KSh 258 million). Although he has never won in Kenya, the 37-year-old won his first and only WRC title in 2024.
In 2025, Sebastian Ogier is reported to earn $2.5 million (KSh 322.5 million) per season. The nine-time champion, however, is now competing for the Toyota Gazoo temporary contract. He has won twice in Kenya.
His teammate, Elfyn Evans, earns about $1 million (KSh 129 million) per season, while Ott Tanak is believed to earn between $1.5 million and $2 million per season.
These figures do not include bonuses such as rally wins or what they get from different sponsors.
How much Kalle Rovanpera earned in the WRC
Former WRC driver Kalle Rovanpera earned around 6 million euros during his time at Toyota Gazoo before leaving the deal.
The Finnish driver left the WRC to pursue a career in Super Formula with one goal of qualifying for Formula 1. He is competing in the Japanese Super Formula this season.
Data comes from Grand Prix and Sportik.
Safari Rally 2026 standings
The situation in Naivasha has been unforgiving, as expected, with heavy rains falling in the country in recent weeks affecting the land.
Friday morning, Camp Moran 2 was canceled due to road damage. Oliver Solberg took the early lead, leading the Toyota Gazoo 1 through 5 heading into Friday afternoon’s stages.
“There’s a lot of cleanliness and the lottery is full of rocks. I was very careful this morning. I just want to keep it clean – as long as I can stay close to Evans, I’m happy,” he said.
Source: Twitter
Their main competitor, Hyundai, drove all their cars three of Thierry Neuville, Adrien Fourmaux and Esapekka Lappi in the heat of the second stage in Mzanizi.
Interior features of Safari Rally car
In a separate report, we detailed the cost of manufacturing/assembling a WRC car.
The cars take up to four months to build from scratch and have a 500 horsepower engine.
The cars cost more than KSh 100 million, but there are plans to reduce that cost significantly in 2027.
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