Rovanperä’s early season raised eyebrows and even drew some criticism, as things just didn’t seem to be working. But in the fourth round of the season, at Rally Islas Canarias, Rovanperä was the undisputed number one.
He ended a long winless streak and claimed his first WRC victory since last year’s Rally Chile. And he did it with a staggering margin. His teammate Sébastien Ogier was left trailing by more than 50 seconds.
Rovanperä set 15 fastest stage times in the Canaries. Only three stages had someone other than the Finn on top. It was overwhelming dominance – even Rovanperä himself was a little surprised.
“That was a really strong performance,” Rovanperä said.
“It’s pretty rare to reach a level where you can drive that much faster than the others. It was quite an amazing weekend in that sense.”
Rovanperä swept the table. He won the rally, Super Sunday and the Power Stage – collecting a perfect 35 championship points from the Finnish-favoured holiday island. As a result, he jumped from sixth to second in the drivers’ standings, emerging as teammate Elfyn Evans’ main challenger for the title.
“It feels pretty good. It had been quite a long break without a podium. So it’s nice to be back on the top step. And when it was time to return, we got a really solid result,” Rovanperä smiled.
Waiting can feel painfully long – especially when you’re used to winning but the victories just won’t come.
“Yeah, it’s been quite a while. Of course, after Chile last year we didn’t do any more rallies, but this year it definitely took too long to get back,” Rovanperä admitted.
If Rovanperä was in a class of his own in the Canaries, the same can be said about the Toyota team. The squad locked out the top four positions – with Ogier, Evans, and Takamoto Katsuta all outperforming the Hyundai drivers. The machinery was top-tier, and everything clicked between the seat and the steering wheel.
“There was no disadvantage in the car for my teammates. Everyone had their own setup choices, and we were sometimes quite close with those. I think we had really strong pace notes. Jonne (co-driver Halttunen) did a great job, and I just enjoyed the driving,” Rovanperä explained when reflecting on the key to success.
Rovanperä, a two-time world champion, has now claimed 16 WRC victories in his career. In the Canaries, he also became the most successful Toyota driver in terms of wins. And in his view, this one was right up there.
“This was definitely one of our strongest performances. At this level, to be able to drive that much faster than the others in equal and very consistent conditions – that’s quite special. It’s certainly not something you see every day,” Rovanperä summed up.
