World Rally Championship: Sebastian Ogier focusing on surviving 'challenging' conditions in Kenya

Ogier won in Kenya last year, as the track returned from a 19-year hiatus to be part of a reduced WRC campaign.

This year, it's back and has evolved, with a third of the 363.44km gravel route brand new for this season. The new additions to the track are deemed particularly rough and sandy, which will give the drivers another obstacle to overcome.

With plenty more to think about behind the wheel, Ogier believes this year's event will particularly rely on strategy from the teams, with the Toyato driver hoping to mastermind his way to the front once again.

"So far it looks even more challenging than what we had last year," said Ogier.

"The target from the organisers was to make it more challenging and that has certainly been reached.

"It looks very difficult in places and for sure it will be about surviving through many, many sections, more than last year.

"It will be a difficult task to find the right rhythm because there will be some times where it is frustrating to accept to lose time, but maybe it is the strategy to reach the end without trouble, and maybe it will bring you quite high in the rankings.

"I think the main reason to come back was definitely the people here, there was such a great atmosphere last year and I expect even better this year with less Covid-19 restrictions so let's see what we can do.

"We have new cars and we know it is going to be difficult for them to survive here so it is hard to predict any result to be honest.

"So it's definitely a rally where you have to never give up, and this year with the cars still being so new, we might have to be even more clever than before."

Ogier won the event last year in dramatic fashion, with the Frenchman initially losing around two minutes early on, before clawing the time back late to pip oyota teammate Takamoto Katsuta to the win.