Rally Canary Islands – Rovanperä and Toyota disgust the competition

• Total domination of Kalle Rovanperä and Toyota on this first day of racing on the Rally of the Canary Islands. The Finn literally crushed the competition by scoring a clean sweep this Friday: six special stages, six scratch times! A small feat which illustrates the Finn's return to form after a difficult start to the season (6th in the championship with only 31 points). At the end of this perfect Friday, the double world champion is logically leading the rally with a 26″ lead over Sébastien Ogier and 36″4 on Elfyn Evans.

⁠100% stage win record on Friday 👏#WRC | #RallyIslasCanarias 🇮🇨 pic.twitter.com/Jr4ubse6QI

— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) April 25, 2025

• Besides Kalle Rovanperä, Toyota literally dominated the proceedings this Friday. The observation is striking: five Toyota Yaris Rally1 entered, five Toyotas in the Top 5! The Japanese team was untouchable on this first day and the Yaris seems to be on its favorite playground in Gran Canaria. Even Sami Pajari (4th) and Takamoto Katsuta (5th), usually behind the competition, are well placed to challenge for the podium in the Canaries.
• Far from the infernal pace of Toyota, Hyundai was no match for the Japanese team on Friday. None of the three drivers were able to challenge the Yaris' supremacy on the winding roads of Gran Canaria, and the South Korean team was merely a spectator to the domination of their Japanese rivals. Adrien fourmaux, the best of the three Hyundais in the morning, lacked pace in the afternoon and dropped to 8th place. Conversely, Thierry Neuville (6e) and Ott Tänak (7th) regained some performance in the second loop compared to their French teammate, but not enough to fight against the Toyotas. The three Hyundai drivers are already more than a minute behind Kalle Rovanperä.
• And what about the Fords? M-Sport, transparent this Friday in the Canary Islands. Grégoire Munster and Josh McErlean are light years behind the Toyotas and were unable to place higher than 9th and 10th in the Rally1 category. The two drivers from the British team are already more than two minutes behind the leaders...
• Josh McErlean is even ranked behind a certain Yohan Rossel, who leads the WRC2 class with great skill aboard his PH Sport Citroën C3 Rally2. Like Kalle Rovanperä in the premier class, the Frenchman won all of today's special stages and took the lead in the Canary Islands Rally ahead of Alejandro Cachon (+18 seconds). Léo Rossel, hampered by a problem with his accelerator pedal in SS7, is currently 4th in WRC5, 2 seconds behind his brother and teammate.

WRC – Canary Islands Rally
ES6 – General classification

ES6 – Special stage classification

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