M-Sport Ford lead driver Gregoire Munster is out to better his chances in the grueling Safari Rally championship set to crisscross the rough terrains of lakeside town of Naivasha from Thursday to Sunday.

His best ever performance in the third leg of the World Rally Championship (WRC) circuit is a 15th place finish last year.

The Belgium was the third best Ford Puma Rally 1 Hybrid speedster in the Safari last season where his then teammate Adrien Fourmaux (currently with Hyundai), spoiled the podium sweep party for Toyota after finishing third as Jourdan Serderidis ended the contest ranked ninth.

Navigated by compatriot Louka Louis, Munster had a rough welcome in the Safari on his debut in 2023 where he was forced to retire at the energy sapping Stage 17 (Malewa) alongside teammate Serderidis and current world champion Thierry Neuville of Hyundai after he developed issues with his driveshaft.

The opening leg of the 2025 WRC season did not augur well with Munster who failed to earn a point in Monte Carlo in January.

But he rose to the occasion in the subsequent second leg at Rally Sweden where he placed eighth, bagging four points in the tough outing.

The 26-year-old speedster now heads to the Safari Rally placed 12th overall on four points and he is hopeful that their formidable Ford Puma Rally 1 line up consisting of Joshua McErlean (Ireland) and Serderidis (Greece) will outpace Toyota and Hyundai in the Kenyan showdown.

While explaining how he’s taken valuable lessons from the challenging Rally Sweden – insights he plans to use to sharpen his pace aboard the Puma Rally1 in the Safari, Munster said: “For sure, this was not the result we wanted, but there were lots of positives to take home in Sweden.”

“We reached the finish without making any big mistakes and we learned a lot. We’ve worked with the engineers on the set-up and have done some analysis and on-board comparisons to be able to keep improving, starting with the coming Safari Rally.”

M-Sport team principal Richard Millener echoed those sentiments, backing his driver to unlock more pace in the coming rallies including the Safari.

“He (Munster) made solid steps forward,” said Millener. “He’s taken on a lot of feedback, and we saw big improvements throughout the weekend in Sweden. This is all building for the future.”

With his sights now set on Safari Rally Kenya, Munster is relishing the challenge ahead.

“Safari Rally is a proper tough event,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s a rally where you need to balance speed with smart management. Reliability is a big thing in Kenya, and I think that’s one of the strong points of our car.”

The Toyota trio of Elfyn Evans, Sebastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanpera lead the WRC standings on 61, 33 and 31 points respectively going into the Safari Rally.

Toyota is also leading the constructor’s standings on 120 points; Hyundai are on 72 while M-Sport Ford are perched third on 25.