Rallying-Evans wins in Kenya and extends championship lead

March 23 (Reuters) - Toyota's Elfyn Evans won Safari Rally Kenya on Sunday to extend his world championship lead to 36 points, a record lead for a driver after three rounds in the World Rally Championship.

Evans and co-driver Scott Martin finished with a time of just over four hours and 20 minutes while Hyundai's Ott Tanak was second, more than a minute behind, with his defending champion team mate Thierry Neuville third.

"Sorry, I can't hear anything... but I want to say thank you to everyone in Kenya for a very warm welcome, an amazing rally," Evans said in a post-race interview while surrounded by members of the Maasai tribe singing and dancing.

"I have to say a huge well done to the team. They did an amazing job and I'm proud to be a very small part of the history of Toyota and this special rally."

It was Evans's second win in three races this season and second in a row after Sweden. The Welshman, who was also runner-up in the Monte Carlo season-opener, now has 88 points to Neuville's 52 and Tanak's 49.

Toyota also lead the manufacturers' championship with 158 points to Hyundai's 122.

"It was an extremely demanding safari this weekend. We had everything from thunderstorms to very rocky, slow and super hot sections," said Tanak, who had mechanical trouble on the first full day of action on Friday.

"Of course, a bit frustrating after losing a few minutes on Friday. But after this we were able to bring it back together and keep it in one piece... It was a very positive weekend, we scored some good points for the team, they did a great job."

Neuville said two Hyundais finishing on the podium was a step forward for the manufacturer but he was not satisfied with the result.

"Reliability was an issue again this weekend, unfortunately," said Neuville, who suffered a puncture and also a driveshaft failure.

"But overall having two cars on the podium showed neither of the teams gave up. We fought hard."