BetZillion brings you a free 2022 Safari Kenya 2022 betting preview with expert gambling picks, top odds, and the best auto racing betting promotions.
While the world’s top rally drivers and cars get ready for the race start, we’re here to provide you with our in-depth betting preview of 2022 Safari Kenya. We bring you all the information you’ll need to find smart picks on the best betting sites in Kenya or betting exchanges.
So without further ado, let’s look at what the 6th event of the 2022 World Rally Championship has in store for us and how you should bet on Safari Rally Kenya 2022.
WRC Safari Rally 2022 betting odds are already out on most live bet sites, and despite the clear gap between the top drivers and the rest, the offered prices make a lot of sense. Still, while some drivers are undeniably the most talented and likely to win, the Safari Rally is known for its highlights just as much as unexpected events. So perhaps we should take the offered WRC Safari Rally 2022 betting odds with a grain of salt.
Ott Tänak heads to Kenya as the man to beat, priced at 11/4 on most online sports betting sites. The offered price seems fair, mainly because if his past form is any indication, Tanak deserves the tag as the most likely winner.
The Estonian rally driver is currently ranked third on the WRC Championship standings with 62 points. Although that sits him 52 points behind the current leader, Kalle Rovanperä, the large points gap hardly means anything.
Over the season, Tanak has secured just 2 podiums, with a runner-up finish in Croatia and a victory in Italy. However, he had a poor start to the year with a DNF in Monte Carlo and an unfortunate 20th-place finish in Sweden.
Still, his occasional slip-ups don’t change that Tanak was phenomenal in Kenya last year when he placed third behind Takamoto Katsuta and Sébastien Ogier.
If there is one word to describe the Finnish rally driver and his performances this season, it would be exceptional. He is one of the most consistent qualifying drivers in the field and by far the most successful driver of the 2022 season.
Given his stats and performances, you could even argue that the offered WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2022 odds are too high. Rovanpera heads to Africa as the current season leader with 120 points, which sits him 55 above the second-placed Thierry Neuville and 58 ahead of Tanak.
Over the 5 races, he has never placed lower than 5th, with a 4th-place finish in Monte Carlo, 3 back-to-back wins in Sweden, Croatia, and Portugal, and a 5th-place finish in Italy. The only real reason Rovanpera is not priced as the favourite for this race is his shaky performance last year when he placed 6th.
Still, with the form he has been showing, you could consider the Finn one of the most appealing picks for the Safari rally.
The current no.2 on the WRC standings, Thierry Neuville, is priced as a 7/2 underdog with the latest WRC odds. However, it’s not surprising that many analysts added him to their 2022 Safari Rally betting tips lists.
The Belgian rally driver has put together 65 points over the 5 races, which is not nearly as impressive as Rovanpera, but he has been consistently good. Neuville kicked off the season with a 6th-place finish in Monte Carlo, second in Sweden, third in Croatia, and 5th in Portugal.
He failed to perform in Italy, where he ended in 41st place, but Neuville won the Power Stage, so we would take his lack of success with a grain of salt. Still, one thing could concern us: Neuville has had a DNF in Kenya since 2021 and has never raced here.
Before 2021, the WRC did not visit Kenya once since 2002, when Colin McRae took the top honours; however, there have been other rally races on the track, featuring primarily local drivers over the 2 decades.
The 2022 WRC Rally Kenya will mark the 6th race of the 2022 WRC season, and it’s scheduled for June 23-26 in Nairobi, Kenya. The race will take place over 19 stages for a total of 363.44km, welcoming some of the world’s best drivers who will compete on one of the most demanding rallying tracks in the world.
Like most rallying races, WRC Rally Kenya likely won’t be broadcasted on sporting TV channels, and you might struggle to find a live stream of the race on any live streaming platform. However, there is a high possibility for live stream websites to show the race’s final stage, so at the very least, you can enjoy the last and most crucial part of the race.
With all the basic information about the race out of the way, let’s focus on our WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2022 predictions, where we talk about our top-3 picks for the upcoming race. So without further ado, here are our top-3 Safari Rally 2022 betting tips with top odds, courtesy of the top-rated car racing bookies.
Ott Tanak might be priced at the shortest odds, but even at 11/4, he is an appealing pick. His results on the year are not nearly as good as that of Rovanperä, but considering how much different the Rally Kenya is from any other race that had taken place this season, we would take past results with a grain of salt.
Moreover, Tranak has shown that he is in good form by claiming his first-season victory in Italy and is now heading back to the track where he placed third last year. Many stats and trends are working in his favour, so we must add him to our 2022 Safari Rally prediction list.
Eight-time WRC champion, Sebastian Ogier, is priced as high as 4/1 to win in Kenya, which looks way too high in our book. Admittedly, he had raced only twice this season, and he wasn’t too convincing in Portugal, where he placed 51st, but that doesn’t change the fact that Ogier is undeniably the most successful rally driver of the last decade.
He had won 8 of the last 9 seasons (except for 3rd in 2019) and was essentially unstoppable before he decided to move away from the sport. So even though Ogier is no longer a full-time driver, he heads to Kenya as the most experienced driver in the field and the defending champion.
Ogier won this race in 2021 by quite a significant margin, and there is very little to suggest he can’t do it again.
If you’re looking for an outsider pick for the upcoming race, you can’t go wrong with Takamoto Katsuta. The 29-year-old Japanese driver is not necessarily one of the flashiest in the field, but he is by far the most consistent.
He has placed in the top 8 in all 5 races this season and has not placed worse than 6th across the last 5. That includes a 4th-place finish in Sweden, 6th in Croatia, 4th in Portugal, and 6th in Italy.
With such stats, it’s hard to argue that Katsuta can’t win this week, but there’s more. Katsuta secured his career-best finish here in 2021 when he finished seconds behind Ogier by 21 seconds. That might not seem too impressive, but the third-placed Tanak was 1:09 behind Ogier, so it’s fair to say that Katsuta and Ogier were in a class of their own.
Can Katsuta emulate his run from 2021 is anyone’s guess, but he has the car and the ability to do it.
Safari Rally Kenya is notoriously one of the toughest rallying races to predict, mainly because it’s one of the world’s most unforgiving and challenging tracks. Even some of the world’s best drivers have seen their dreams crumble on the African course, which is not too kind for mistakes that can quickly see you end in a ditch or buried deep into the sand.
But there’s a charm to all that, especially for the spectators and rallying bettors alike, who seek value picks among drivers who might not be considered the best but can overcome the challenges and chase the ultimate glory.
That concludes our WRC Rally Kenya betting preview, providing you with 3 gambling picks for the upcoming race. Before placing your wagers, visit the best betting sites and wager only with the top payout sportsbook for motorsports betting.
