After seven special stages have been completed, Rovanperä holds the fastest time on every single stage at the Rally Islas Canarias. On Saturday morning’s opening stage, his team-mate Sébastien Ogier was one second slower than the Finn. In the overall standings, Rovanperä’s lead over the Frenchman is almost half a minute.
“This was the worst stage this weekend. In that sense, the time is surprisingly good. I had problems when downshifting. I couldn’t find a proper rhythm because of that,” Rovanperä summed up, but confirmed at the same time that there were no major issues.
“We were at least quicker at one split. The gaps are big, so it’s not worth taking unnecessary risks. Kalle has a strong rhythm going, and he doesn’t need to push too much. Then the driving comes naturally,” Ogier said.
World Championship leader Elfyn Evans continues to hold third place in the rally. The gap to Rovanperä has already grown to 43.3 seconds. Toyota’s five-car lead is completed by Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta.
“It went quite well. I tried to drive very cleanly and took some sections carefully. There’s room to improve on the second pass. The pace was on the safe side,” said Pajari.
Hyundai WRC team’s superstars Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville are still completely at sea with their cars. The pair are in seventh and eighth places. The gap to the lead has already grown to one and a half minutes.
Among the Hyundai drivers, Adrien Fourmaux started Saturday morning the best, chasing Katsuta and Pajari ahead of him. Fourmaux is only nine seconds behind Katsuta.
On Saturday, six more special stages will be contested at the Rally Islas Canarias The rally will conclude on Sunday.
Rally Islas Canarias standings after SS7/18:
| Sija | Kuljettaja | Talli | Aika |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 1:25:01.4 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +27.8 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +43.3 |
| 4. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1:06.4 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:13.4 |
| 6. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +1:22.4 |
| 7. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +1:26.2 |
| 8. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +1:32.6 |
| 9. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +2:38.4 |
| 10. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +3:25.7 |
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
