Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä made an exceptionally strong start to the new WRC event, immediately setting the fastest time and taking the rally lead.
Rovanperä beat his teammate Elfyn Evans by 6.5 seconds on the newly introduced Valsequillo – Telde special stage.
“I’m a bit surprised by my time, to be honest. It didn’t feel that good. We didn’t have quite the optimal tyre pressures. But we can improve,” Rovanperä said at the stage finish.
Toyota secured a 1-2-3 at the start of the rally, with Sébastien Ogier setting the third-fastest time. He was 9.1 seconds off Rovanperä’s pace.
“We had a bit of an issue with the tyres. Still nice to be back in the car, even if it wasn’t as sharp as it could have been,” Ogier said.
Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux was the fastest driver for his team but finished 12.8 seconds behind Rovanperä. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak, on the other hand, suffered from mysterious issues. They lost significant time towards the end of the stage. Tänak was fifth fastest, while Neuville could only manage eighth.
Tänak was 17 seconds down on Rovanperä, and Neuville a full 19.6 seconds adrift. Neuville was visibly disappointed at the stage finish.
“A difficult start, the Belgian summed up briefly,” shaking his head.
Tänak was more concise in describing the problems.
“That was terribly difficult. That’s what it was. Tyres were fine, that was the least of the problems,” Tänak smirked.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta and also Sami Pajari both managed to beat Neuville. At this point, Pajari trailed fellow Finn Rovanperä by 17.5 seconds, while Katsuta was 17.4 seconds behind.
“I’m not very satisfied with this. I couldn’t find a proper flow,” Pajari concluded.
Rally Canary Islands features five more special stages on Friday. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Rally Canary Islands standings after SS1/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 15:43.0 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +6.5 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +9.1 |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +12.8 |
| 5. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +17.0 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +17.4 |
| 7. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +17.5 |
| 8. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +19.6 |
| 9. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +28.4 |
| 10. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +40.9 |
Rally Islas Canarias itinerary (CET):
Thursday 24 April 10:01 SS1 Shakedown: Santa Brígida (6.26 km) Friday 25 April 09:03 SS1 Valsequillo - Telde 1 (26.32 km) 10:49 SS2 Velleseco - Artenara 1 (15.27 km) 12:25 SS3 La Aldea - Mogán 1 (17.83 km) 14:35 Service 16:18 SS4 Valsequillo - Telde 2 (26.32 km) 18:04 SS5 Velleseco - Artenara 2 (15.27 km) 19:40 SS6 La Aldea - Mogán 2 (17.83 km) Saturday 26 April 09:05 SS7 Moya - Gáldar 1 (24.09 km) 10:48 SS8 Arucas - Firgas - Teror 1 (13.75 km) 11:58 SS9 Tejeda - San Mateo 1 (23.30 km) 13:40 Service 16:05 SS10 Moya - Gáldar 2 (24.09 km) 17:48 SS11 Arucas - Firgas - Teror 2 (13.75 km) 18:58 SS12 Tejeda - San Mateo 2 (23.30 km) 21:35 SS13 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (1.80 km) Sunday 27 April 09:10 SS14 Agüimes - Santa Lucía 1 (14.97 km) 10:05 SS15 Maspalomas 1 (13.47 km) 11:35 SS16 Costa Canaria (1.50 km) 12:21 SS17 Agüimes - Santa Lucía 2 (14.97 km) 14:15 SS18 Maspalomas 2 (13.47 km) *Power Stage
