The start of the season hasn’t gone to plan for the Toyota driver. He claimed a respectable fourth place at Monte Carlo, but could only manage fifth in Sweden. The previous round in Kenya ended in retirement for Rovanperä due to technical problems on the final day.
Now, for the first time this year, the WRC stars are fighting for points on pure asphalt. Rovanperä showed strong pace right away in the morning shakedown stage, setting the fastest time by a clear margin.
“The pace in the shakedown was pretty raw. That was positive. It felt good, and the car felt good too,” Rovanperä told RallyJournal.com.
“Of course, it’s only the shakedown – a short stage that you remember well. That makes it more about the driving itself, and the driving felt alright. Naturally, I’ll need to get into the same kind of flow with the pacenotes during the rally – if that happens, then we’re in for something good,” the Toyota driver added.
Gran Canaria has never hosted a WRC points-scoring event before. Rovanperä was pleased with the recce.
“The stages here are really great. It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a completely clean, quality tarmac rally. The last one like this was Spain in 2022. Since then, every tarmac rally has had dirt and other stuff. Now it’s a clean rally with really cool stages.”
“Starting order won’t make a difference here either. So it should be a great rally. The stages were difficult on the first recce, but they’ve been tidied up well,” Rovanperä said.
In the early season rallies, Rovanperä struggled to find a good feel with the new tyres from WRC’s new supplier, Hankook. According to him, the tyres might still not be a perfect match even in the Canary Islands, though the issue may not be as pronounced as in Monte Carlo or Sweden.
“At least in the tests and now in the shakedown as well, things worked by just driving. But when we start doing the longer stages, it’ll come down to who can keep the tyres in the best condition and avoid overheating them. This is a really tough rally on tyres, as it’s constant corner after corner.”
“The basic performance of the tyre probably suits me, but we’ll see which driving style suits them best in terms of keeping them in good shape.”
After a lacklustre start to the season, Rovanperä is now hunting for a proper result. He certainly needs one, as he trails his championship-leading teammate Elfyn Evans by a hefty 57 points.
See the current WRC standings here!
“The goals have been high all along, but we haven’t got the kind of result we’ve been aiming for. Now would finally be a good time to get one,” Rovanperä stated bluntly.
The Rally Islas Canarias kicks into full gear on Friday, with six special stages on the schedule.
