On Saturday, Rovanperä set his eighth consecutive fastest time, maintaining the highest pace on the Arucas – Firgas – Teror special stage. Rovanperä has therefore been firing in only fastest stage times throughout the entire rally.
“It was fun. The grip level changed quite a lot,” Rovanperä summarised at the stage finish.
“I didn’t take any risks. I had a good flow towards the end, so it was really enjoyable,” the Finnish champion added.
But Rovanperä’s streak nearly came to an end. He beat his team-mate Sébastien Ogier by just 0.7 seconds. Rovanperä was trailing the Frenchman for a long time but somehow managed to find the necessary margin by the end of the stage.
Toyota continued to lead with a strong and even front. Elfyn Evans lost 0.8 seconds to Rovanperä, and Sami Pajari, who showed perhaps his best pace of the weekend, was only 1.2 seconds behind Rovanperä.
“It went quite well. The grip level changed a bit, but there were no surprises,” Pajari summarised.
Hyundai’s star drivers Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak continued to struggle. Adrien Fourmaux was once again the fastest driver for his team.
“At the beginning of the stage there was good grip, but then it unexpectedly changed. It was quite tricky,” Tänak said.
“I was still struggling with the car’s balance and grip,” Neuville pointed out.
In the overall standings, Rovanperä now leads the rally by 28.5 seconds over Sébastien Ogier. Evans remains third, 44.1 seconds behind. Sami Pajari is in fourth place and Takamoto Katsuta is fifth. Toyota therefore continues to occupy the top five positions in the competition.
Rally Canary Islands still has five special stages to be run on Saturday. The competition ends on Sunday.
Rally Islas Canarias standings after SS8/18:
| Sija | Kuljettaja | Talli | Aika |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 1:32:47.6 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +28.5 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +44.1 |
| 4. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1:07.6 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:17.4 |
| 6. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +1:26.1 |
| 7. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +1:30.4 |
| 8. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +1:37.7 |
| 9. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +2:50.7 |
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
