Kalle Rovanperä showcased an extraordinary performance on the first day of WRC Rally Islas Canarias, leading an impressive clean sweep of the top five positions for Toyota Gazoo Racing. The reigning two-time world champion, alongside his co-driver Jonne Halttunen, demonstrated unmatched skill and efficiency across all six of Friday’s special stages. Their relentless pace resulted in a commanding lead of 26.8 seconds over the nearest competitors. The superiority of the Japanese manufacturer was further highlighted by the fact that all five of their GR Yaris Rally1 vehicles finished the day ahead of the competition from Hyundai Motorsport and M-Sport Ford, exhibiting exceptional speed and reliability on the challenging asphalt stages of Gran Canaria.
Rovanperä’s remarkable performance comes at a crucial juncture in the championship. After a relatively quiet start to the season, he entered this fourth round trailing the championship leader by a significant 57 points. However, his dominant display on Friday suggests a potential shift in momentum, presenting him with an opportunity to substantially reduce that gap if his supremacy continues throughout the weekend. While many competitors struggled with finding the optimal car setup and managing tire wear on the demanding tarmac roads winding through Gran Canaria’s rugged terrain, Rovanperä appeared perfectly in tune with the conditions. The enthusiastic local fans, witnessing their island’s inaugural WRC event, lined the stages, contributing to the electric atmosphere.
The only minor setback in an otherwise flawless day for the 24-year-old Finnish driver was a brief moment of understeer during SS3, a stage he still managed to win despite the challenge. Following him on the provisional podium were eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier and current championship leader Elfyn Evans, both piloting fellow Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 vehicles. Rounding out Toyota’s impressive lockout of the top five were Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta in fourth and fifth places, respectively, underscoring the sheer speed and consistency of the Toyota team.
“It feels really good,” a smiling Rovanperä remarked at the end of the day. “It’s surprisingly enjoyable to have this type of Tarmac rally – we haven’t had it in a long time. Now, hopefully, we know what to do with the car for tomorrow. We tested some minor adjustments here, so it should be quite okay.” The battle for second place saw an intense contest between Ogier and Evans. Ogier managed to gain the upper hand after adjusting his tire pressures post the opening stage, finishing the day 9.6 seconds ahead of his Welsh teammate during the overnight halt in Las Palmas. Pajari, competing in only his second pure asphalt rally in a Rally1 car, impressed with a consistent series of top-four stage times, concluding Friday just 18.9 seconds behind Evans. Katsuta, whose confidence and determination visibly grew as the day progressed, advanced into fifth place on the penultimate stage, overtaking Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux and trailing Pajari by an additional 10.7 seconds.
It turned out to be a frustrating day for the Hyundai Motorsport team and their drivers. Fourmaux ultimately dropped to eighth place on the final stage, falling behind his teammates Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak. All three Hyundai drivers struggled to extract optimal performance from the hard compound Hankook Ventus Z215 tires. Setup issues left them over a minute adrift of Rovanperä’s leading time, compelling the team to work on finding solutions overnight. “I don’t know what to say,” a visibly disappointed Neuville expressed. “Clearly, days like this are really hard to swallow. However, in the end, they are not the end of the world. I’m not sure we learned anything today. We know we have two more days to go, and we need to stay positive and keep working.”
The M-Sport Ford team also faced similar challenges with their drivers Grégoire Munster and Josh McErlean. The duo worked together on road sections between stages to make adjustments to their cars, but progress seemed limited. Munster finished the day in ninth overall, 56.3 seconds behind Fourmaux, while McErlean found himself further down the order in eleventh place. In the WRC2 class, Frenchman Yohan Rossel established a substantial 18.7-second lead, placing him within the overall top ten. The Citroën C3 Rally2 driver led Alejandro Cachón, with Nikolay Gryazin holding third place in WRC2, an additional 20.2 seconds behind Cachón. Saturday’s leg of Rally Islas Canarias presents the longest challenge of the event, featuring over 120 kilometers of competitive stages spread across seven tests. The day will conclude with a unique and fan-friendly stage held inside the Gran Canaria Arena, typically home to professional basketball matches.
Friday’s Standings After SS6 / 18:
- Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen FIN Toyota GR Yaris 1h 10m 31.8s
- Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin GBR Toyota GR Yaris +26.8s
- Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais FRA Toyota GR Yaris +36.4s
- Sami Pajari / Enni Mälkönen FIN Toyota GR Yaris +55.3s
- Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston JPN Toyota GR Yaris +1m 6.0s
- Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe BEL Hyundai i20 N +1m 13.3s
Summary of Friday’s Dominance:
- Kalle Rovanperä led a Toyota top-five sweep on Friday at WRC Rally Islas Canarias.
- Rovanperä won all six of the day’s special stages.
- Elfyn Evans finished the day in second place, 26.8 seconds behind Rovanperä.
- Sébastien Ogier completed the provisional podium in third, an additional 9.6 seconds back.
- Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the Toyota top five.
- Hyundai drivers Neuville, Tänak, and Fourmaux struggled with tire performance and setup.
- Yohan Rossel led the WRC2 class.
- Saturday’s leg features the rally’s longest competitive distance.
Disclaimer: Results are provisional and based on the standings after Friday’s stages of WRC Rally Islas Canarias. Final results may vary. This report focuses on the events of the first day and does not predict the overall outcome of the rally.
Source: WRC
AI Assistance: Gemini
