WRC - Canary Islands Rally: Ideal start for Rovanperä and Toyota

Kalle Rovanperä dominated the first loop of the day in Gran Canaria and already leads the Canary Islands Rally with a significant lead over Sébastien Ogier. Behind the Toyotas, Hyundai is not in the running.

Published 25/04/2025 à 13:07

Dorian Grangier

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Rally Canary Islands – Ideal start for Rovanperä and Toyota, Hyundai behind

Kalle Rovanperä had a clean sweep in Gran Canaria this Friday morning. The Finn dominated the proceedings during the first loop of the day on the Rally of the Canary Islands, winning all three special stages on the morning's programme. Despite the thick fog in the first two stages, the double world champion was impressive throughout this first run with some amazing times aboard his Toyota Yaris. Struggling at the start of the season with mixed results, Kalle Rovanperä is trying to rectify the situation this weekend by going on the attack from the start, and so far, it's paying off!
With his three special stage victories, Kalle Rovanperä logically leads the Canary Islands Rally with a good lead over Sébastien Ogier (+17″8) and Elfyn Evans (+20″2). Three Toyotas lead the general classification, a symbol of the dominance of Japanese machines this Friday morning in the Canary Islands. The Yaris seems at ease on the smooth and winding roads of Gran Canaria: in SS3, the Japanese manufacturer even scored an incredible five times in the special!
On the other hand, it's a difficult start to the weekend for HyundaiNone of the three drivers from the South Korean team could compete with the Toyotas, and there is a feeling of incomprehension within the ranks of the team. Cyril Abiteboul. Only Adrien fourmaux, 4th overall (+34″2) was able to show some performance with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1. Ott Tänak (+42″9) and Thierry Neuville (+45″4), confused after the arrival of the three special stages, are already relegated to 7th and 8th positions, only ahead of the Fords M-Sport. "I have no idea. Honestly, it's not very pleasant and it doesn't work. I can't take any lines. Nothing works.", conceded a dejected Thierry Neuville after SS3.
Like Kalle Rovanperä in Rally1, Yohan Rossel has clearly dominated the WRC2 category after the first three stages of this Rally of the Canary Islands. The Frenchman set the fastest time on all the stages of the first loop and leads with a 15″ advantage over Alejandro Cachon and 8″ ahead of his brother and teammate at Citroën – PH Sport, Léo Rossel. Unfortunately, for his first rally in the world championship, Mathieu Franceschi retired on SS20 aboard his Toyota Yaris.