Ultra-dominant Rovanperä takes a sublime victory at the Canary Islands Rally

• This weekend, he was the boss: Kalle Rovanperä crushed the competition on the island of Gran Canaria, for the very first time Rally of the Canary Islands, counting towards the World Rally Championship. After an exceptional performance bordering on perfection, the Finn secured his first victory of the 2025 season, the 16th of his career in WRC. And certainly one of the most impressive too.

Statement made. 🇫🇮 Rovanperä and Halttunen control Rally Islas Canarias from the very first stage — first win in 7 months, and they're back in the hunt! 🏆#WRC | #RallyIslasCanarias 🇮🇨 pic.twitter.com/2Wr66rOOuI

— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) April 27, 2025

• From Friday morning to Saturday evening, Kalle Rovanperä won 12 consecutive special stage victories, gradually increasing his lead in front of Sébastien Ogier, long powerless against the young Finn's frenetic pace. In total, the double world champion won 15 scratchs on the 18 special stages contested in Gran Canaria and was only defeated on the two Super Specials organized this weekend as well as on SS17. A (near) unchallenged domination which contrasts with the laborious start to the season of the Nordic driver, who finally launches his season with this magnificent victory. By dominating the Super Sunday and the Power Stage, Kalle Rovanperä made a clean sweep and won the 35 available points.
• Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans tried to fight off Kalle Rovanperä at the start of the weekend, but both drivers Toyota resigned themselves to the places of honor as of Saturday afternoon. The Frenchman, however, took a fine 2nd place in the Canary Islands, earning 25 additional points. Elfyn Evans secured his fourth consecutive podium in 2025 and took the lead in the championship with 21 more points scored this weekend. With Takamoto Katsuta's 4th place, Toyota achieved an incredible quadruple, the fifth in its history in the WRC and the first on asphalt.
• Hyundai completely missed the mark this weekend. Never in the game and behind the Toyotas, the South Korean team could only see its lack of performance with uninspired setup choices at the start of the race. Among the three Hyundai drivers, it was Adrien fourmaux who did best with a 5th place overall and 13 points scored. For Thierry Neuville On the other hand, it was a bad operation: victim of a puncture in SS17 this Sunday, the Belgian lost a lot of time and points with only 7 units registered and a 7th place at the finish of this Rally of the Canary Islands.
• In the championship, Elfyn Evans takes the lead with 109 points, ahead of Kalle Rovanperä (66 points) and Thierry Neuville (59 points). Adrien Fourmaux is 6th with 44 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Toyota regains the lead with 208 points, compared to Hyundai's 157 points.
• Second rally in 2025 and second victory for Yohan Rossel in WRC2! Three months after his success at the Rallye Monte-Carlo, the Nîmes driver repeated the feat this weekend in the Canary Islands with a masterful victory. Like Kalle Rovanperä in the premier class, the Citroën driver scored numerous scratch times (13/18) throughout the weekend and managed to maintain the gap to the local driver, Alejandro Cachon. The Spaniard held his own against the Frenchman for a long time but ultimately lost by 29 seconds. With this second victory, Yohan Rossel takes the lead in the WRC5 championship with 2 points.

WRC – Canary Islands Rally
General classification

Power Stage ranking

Super Sunday Rankings

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