Canary Islands Rally - SS15: Solberg makes an early start, Ogier under pressure

The battle for victory intensifies at the Canary Islands Rally. Oliver Solberg won the first special stage on Sunday, SS15, gaining a few more precious tenths on leader Sébastien Ogier in wet conditions.

Published 26/04/2026 à 09:17

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Canary Islands Rally – SS15: Solberg makes an early start, Ogier under pressure

The last step of Rally The Canary Islands Rally began under extreme tension this Sunday morning. With only 78,4 km remaining and asphalt soaked by overnight rain, most of the leaders opted for a mix of four soft and two hard tires to tackle the fog and humidity, as there will be no service today. On roads lined with walls that leave no room for error, Ogier remains in the lead, but the Solberg threat is becoming clearer, at 3,2 seconds.

In treacherous conditions, Oliver Solberg delivered a masterful performance, taking the fastest time ahead of his teammate Sébastien Ogier, who gave it his all but missed out by just six-tenths of a second to the Swede. The pressure is mounting for the Frenchman!

Behind them, the battle for Super Sunday points is raging. Elfyn Evans showed good pace, finishing third on the stage ahead of Sami Pajari. The Welshman thus reduces the overall gap, now sitting just 19,4 seconds behind.

Having more difficulty during the first special stage of the morning, Adrien fourmaux concedes several seconds to his teammates and pursuers, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo, but still maintains sixth place provisionally in the general classification.

The most exciting action at the end of the stage was in WRC2. Léo Rossel made a strong statement by setting the sixth fastest time on SS15, six seconds quicker than his older brother, Yohan. This performance allowed the younger brother to move into eleventh place in the provisional overall standings, just behind Yohan, at the expense of Alejandro Cachón. The duel promises to be thrilling, as only 3,8 seconds now separate the Frenchman from the Spaniard. Meanwhile, Yohan Rossel maintains his position and remains tenth in the overall standings.