But no one else could either. Rovanperä clocked the fastest times on all three of the morning’s stages and opened up a 17.8-second lead over Ogier, who sits second in the standings.
“He was in his own league this morning. No one could match his speed at the moment,” Ogier admitted.
Despite this, Ogier wasn’t particularly disappointed. His own morning had been solid, even if Rovanperä was clearly the strongest.
“I think it’s been an okay morning for me – not perfect. I’m still not 100% happy with the balance of the car. And yeah, still learning and discovering this tyre, and I don’t manage to use it perfectly,” Ogier said.
Three more special stages are scheduled for Friday in the Canary Islands.
“But we have some ideas for the afternoon. We will try to find those little things that are still missing to have the perfect feeling. Because it’s not that bad — but let’s say, it’s not enough,” Ogier noted.
Toyota holds a 1–2–3 lead after the morning loop. Championship leader Elfyn Evans is currently third overall, 20.2 seconds behind Rovanperä.
Yeah, it was a clean morning. Not really any big issues, but naturally, Kalle was pretty fast — also a little faster at the end of the loop there,” Evans commented.
“We need to find a little something, it seems. But overall, not a bad morning, though I think it can still be better,” he added.
Evans also had to concede that Rovanperä is on another level. It may prove difficult to challenge the Finn’s pace.
“He’s very strong. In truth, I think you need a decent step to arrive at that level — especially the level he had on stage two,” Evans admitted.
