And he did it in style. Rovanperä set the fastest time on nearly every stage of the rally and capped off his commanding performance by also winning both Super Sunday and the Power Stage.
That means Rovanperä walked away from the weekend with the full set of points: 25 for the overall win, five from Super Sunday, and five more from the Power Stage.
It’s hard to imagine what more the Finn could have done.
“It’s quite amazing. It hasn’t been the best start to the season, but at least in these kinds of conditions, we’re definitely back now,” Rovanperä said.
Earlier in the season, Rovanperä struggled with the Hankook tyres and couldn’t find the comfort and confidence he needed behind the wheel. But in the Canaries, the Finn was back to his best. He found a rhythm right from the start that no one else could match at any point during the rally.
But Toyota’s team effort was also flawless. The squad secured a 1-2-3-4 finish in the Canaries. Sébastien Ogier finished second, Elfyn Evans took third, and Takamoto Katsuta was fourth.
A 1-2-3-4-5 sweep might even have been possible if Sami Pajari hadn’t crashed out on Saturday. Across the board, Toyota clearly outperformed Hyundai.
“Big congratulations to the whole team, both at the workshop and everywhere else. The cars were so fast. I really enjoyed it – a super result for the whole team,” Rovanperä added.
