Kalle Rovanperä claimed his first victory of the season – and did so in style. He beat his teammate Sébastien Ogier by over 50 seconds and finished well ahead of his other teammates, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta.
It was also the third time this season that Toyota scored maximum points in the manufacturers’ championship, pulling 51 points clear of Hyundai.
Rovanperä also took the full 35 points from the Canary Islands, leaping from sixth to second place in the drivers’ standings. Elfyn Evans currently leads the championship with a 43-point advantage over Rovanperä. While that’s a substantial gap, there’s still a lot of the season left to run.
Rovanperä’s lacklustre start to the season had raised doubts about his chances of claiming a third world title – but the situation now looks much brighter.
“Without a doubt, Kalle is in the title fight this year. He’s fully in it,” said Juha Kankkunen, who acted as Toyota team principal in the Canary Islands, to RallyJournal.com.
At the moment, Evans remains in a class of his own at the top of the championship standings, at least for now. Behind him, the battle is much tighter. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville (59 points), Sébastien Ogier (58), and Ott Tänak (57) are close behind.
“I rate Evans as a very good driver, and he’s definitely just as much in the title fight as anyone else,” Kankkunen said.
“It’s great that we have two strong contenders in the mix, because Hyundai will certainly throw Tänak and Neuville into the fight too. It’s going to be a fascinating battle,” Kankkunen added.
On top of everything else, Toyota has a strong wildcard up its sleeve in eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier, who continues to support both Rovanperä and Evans.
“Ogier helps us from time to time, and he’s a pretty good backup! He’s fourth in the standings despite only contesting two rallies so far. It’s not looking bad at all!” Kankkunen enthused.
The WRC season continues in mid-May with Rally Portugal, where Toyota will once again field a full line-up – with Ogier also taking part.
