The Finn has been near flawless on the tarmac roads of Gran Canaria. Five special stages have been completed – and Rovanperä has claimed five stage wins.
On the penultimate stage of Friday, Rovanperä beat his Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans by 2.4 seconds.
“We always try to find more from the setup. These two last stages were again really nice, but let’s see now how the last one is since we struggled there a bit in the morning,” Rovanperä said.
Evans clocked the second-fastest time and managed to close the gap slightly, but the stage win still went to Rovanperä.
“I’m not happy with my run,” Evans admitted bluntly.
In the overall classification, Rovanperä now holds a comfortable 25.1-second lead over Sebastien Ogier, who was 2.8 seconds slower than his teammate on SS5.
Toyota’s situation in the Canaries is simply remarkable. The team now holds the top five positions in the rally. Behind Rovanperä and Ogier are Evans, Sami Pajari (+50.2), and Takamoto Katsuta (+58.1), who moved ahead of Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux by 0.9 seconds to take fifth.
It’s been a tough Friday for Hyundai. Struggling with their cars, Fourmaux, Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville currently occupy sixth, seventh and eighth – all trailing the rally leader by roughly a minute.
One more stage remains on Friday at Rally Islas Canarias. The event concludes on Sunday.
Rally Islas Canarias standings after SS5/18:
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 59:57.4 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +25.1 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +30.1 |
| 4. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +50.2 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +58.1 |
| 6. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +59.0 |
| 7. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +1:03.9 |
| 8. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +1:05.7 |
| 9. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:54.8 |
| 10. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +2:26.8 |
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
