Bonato’s advantage over his compatriot Mathieu Franceschi is just 0.3 seconds. The French duo moved into the lead after the host nation’s Alejandro Cachon, who had been leading after the first four special stages, suffered a tire blowout on the afternoon’s opening stage.
“I’m very happy with the afternoon. The fight is on, so we have to push really hard tomorrow. It’s still fun,” Bonato remarked.
“Tomorrow is a big day and we need to perform well. I hope everything goes as well. A big thanks to my team already,” Franceschi echoed.
Defending ERC champion, Hyundai’s Hayden Paddon, is currently in third place, only 12.1 seconds behind the leader.
“I struggled in the morning and couldn’t get any rhythm. We made some changes to the car for the afternoon and it worked better,” said Paddon.
Spanish driver Diego Ruiloba, in fourth place, is just 5.1 seconds behind Paddon. The top eight drivers, including Jose Suarez, Jon Armstrong, Mads Østberg, and Miko Marczyk, are within 27.4 seconds of each other. Cachon, who had led the rally, is now ninth, 30.3 seconds off the lead.
Six more special stages are scheduled for Saturday in the Canary Islands.
Standings of the ERC Rally Islas Canarias after SS7/13:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Yoann Bonato | Citroen | 59:29.2 |
| 2. | Mathieu Franceschi | Skoda | +0.3 |
| 3. | Hayden Paddon | Hyundai | +12.1 |
| 4. | Diego Ruiloba | Citroen | +17.2 |
| 5. | Jose Suarez | Skoda | +21.3 |
| 6. | Jon Armstrong | Ford | +22.6 |
| 7. | Mads Østberg | Citroen | +27.0 |
| 8. | Mikolaj Marczyk | Skoda | +27.4 |
| 9. | Alejandro Cachon | Toyota | +30.3 |
