Rovanperä set the fastest time, beating teammate Sebastien Ogier by 1.2 seconds. The Finnish star has now gone fastest on all but one stage in the Canaries – the only exception being Saturday evening’s short spectator stage.
In the overall standings, Rovanperä now leads Ogier by 46.4 seconds. He is aiming to secure the maximum points haul on Sunday in addition to the rally win.
“It’s gonna be a tight day. We’ll try to do our best to get points,” Rovanperä said.
“Cold conditions, very nice roads. Quite twisty near the end, but so far so good. Quickest so far,” Ogier added with a laugh.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans remains in third place. He was the third-fastest driver in Sunday morning’s opener, ahead of Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta sits fourth overall, followed by Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, Neuville and Ott Tänak.
Ford driver Josh McErlean’s rally unravelled in the first stage on Sunday morning. The Irishman collided with a barrier in a right-hand corner, forcing him to retire. McErlean had just broken into the points by the end of Saturday, but the retirement means he’ll leave empty-handed.
Rally Islas Canarias concludes on Sunday, with five special stages still to come.
Rally Islas Canarias standings after SS13/18:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 2:31:07.4 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +46.4 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1:10.4 |
| 4. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:49.1 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +2:15.4 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +2:18.5 |
| 7. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +2:53.7 |
| 8. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +6:06.5 |
| 9. | Alejandro Cachon | Toyota | +6:26.2 |
Super Sunday standings:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 8:50.1 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +1.2 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +2.3 |
| 4. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +3.3 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +5.2 |
| 6. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +5.8 |
| 7. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +6.4 |
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
