The debut WRC event in the Canary Islands turned into a showcase for Toyota. Kalle Rovanperä claimed a dominant victory, and Sébastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans, and Takamoto Katsuta completed a 1-2-3-4 finish for the team.
Hyundai had a much more downbeat weekend. The performance of the team’s Rally1 car was simply not enough to match Toyota, and their drivers were left far from the top positions.
Toyota was even on course for a 1-2-3-4-5 at one stage, but Sami Pajari crashed out from fourth place on Saturday. M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean also failed to reach the finish.
RallyJournal.com journalists Toni Heinonen, Aki Hietavala, and Ville Hirvonen rated each top-class driver’s performance using the school grading scale, where 10 is the highest and 4 is the lowest.
Toni Heinonen
Kalle Rovanperä 10 (Position: 1st)
Phenomenal. Is there anything else to say? This was the Kalle we’re used to seeing. Nothing more needs to be added. A fully deserved ten – and I rarely give those out.
Sebastien Ogier 9+ (Position: 2nd)
Could the team have a better part-time driver? He took victory in Monte and now, in his second rally of the season, he was only beaten by his dominant teammate. No mistakes, just solid pace from stage to stage. That’s how you bring home the points.
Elfyn Evans 8½ (Position: 3rd)
The WRC points leader keeps delivering consistently. This time he had to settle for “just” third place, but another strong haul for the championship. Titles have been won with this kind of approach before.
Takamoto Katsuta 8 (Position: 4th)
The Japanese driver got the result he needed after the huge disappointment in Kenya. He didn’t shine, but he drove solidly. All Hyundai drivers finished behind him – that deserves credit. You could clearly see his relief after the rally.
Adrien Fourmaux 7 (Position: 5th)
Winner of the Hyundai Cup, as the Frenchman jokingly put it. Hyundai’s machinery wasn’t capable of anything more. But he deserves big praise for finishing ahead of the team’s world champions Tänak and Neuville.
Ott Tänak 6 (Position: 6th)
A disappointing result compared to expectations. The issue was mainly the car, but it’s worth noting that he was beaten by both of his teammates multiple times. Hyundai and Tänak need to find better form before Portugal.
Thierry Neuville 6- (Position: 7th)
The reigning champ was a shadow of himself, just like Tänak. With the car not performing, Neuville resigned himself to his fate. There were no bright spots at all during the weekend. Of course, it’s hard to deliver when the car isn’t working – but there are no sympathy points here.
Gregoire Munster 5½ (Position: 11th)
Oh right – there were M-Sport drivers in this rally too. More was expected from Munster, especially after he clocked a fastest time in Monte. This time, he had no say in stage times. He even ventured into the undergrowth on Saturday but reached the finish outside the points.
Josh McErlean 4 (Retired)
Only a failing grade for McErlean. WRC2 drivers regularly outpaced him, and he eventually crashed out. He simply wasn’t competitive on the Canary Island asphalt stages.
Sami Pajari 5- (Retired)
Let’s start on a positive note. Pajari showed great pace for almost two full days. It was his first strong display of the season. But then came the crash, and the rally ended. Hard to justify a higher score when the rally ends in a driving mistake.
Aki Hietavala
Kalle Rovanperä 10
King Kalle is back! 35 points and 15 stage wins. A perfect performance. Everyone else was just playing supporting roles in the Canaries.
Sebastien Ogier 9+
A fine showing once again from Toyota’s part-timer. Second place in the overall, Super Sunday, and the Power Stage. Big points for the team. From a spectacle perspective, you wished he could have at least challenged Kalle a little.
Elfyn Evans 9
Evans brought home big points behind the top two. His lead in the championship actually increased. This is exactly how to drive when you know you can’t match the rally leader’s pace.
Takamoto Katsuta 8+
A strong result after the disappointment in Kenya. Surely this gives the Japanese driver some breathing room. A couple of points on Sunday too. He wasn’t quite brave enough on the Power Stage, understandably.
Adrien Fourmaux 8
Best Hyundai driver! Finished ahead of two world champions. Right from Friday morning it was clear Hyundai couldn’t match Toyota. If you beat the champs in the same car, you’ve done well.
Ott Tänak 6½
A flat weekend for Tänak and all of Hyundai. He likely brought home all the points that were possible, but the pace was nowhere. How can the setup go so wrong?
Thierry Neuville 6+
Same story as Tänak. He even ran a test rally in Córdoba and got plenty of mileage – but still nothing to show for it. The reigning champion has had a poor start to the season.
Gregoire Munster 6-
Who remembers what Munster did this weekend? I don’t. Eleventh overall and beaten by three Rally2 cars. There were clearly some problems, but he didn’t impress with pace at any point.
Josh McErlean 4
No pace, no nothing. Then came the crash. It’s a tough lesson for the Irishman. No one probably expected miracles, but you still wonder if someone else would get more out of that car.
Sami Pajari 5-
When you crash out due to a mistake, it’s hard to give a high grade. A real shame – the speed was there. That crash also cost Toyota a 1-2-3-4-5.
Ville Hirvonen
Kalle Rovanperä 10(+)
Kalle is back! He dominated the rally and clocked 15 stage wins. Only three stages went to someone else. He collected the full 35 points and didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend. All the superlatives have already been used, but here’s one more: he showed great maturity on Saturday and Sunday. He didn’t chase stage-win records, but eased off slightly on things like the spectator stages. A perfect ten – and a plus on top!
Sebastien Ogier 9
You’ve got to praise the old master as well. An excellent weekend overall. Also worth noting his experience and composure. He knew he couldn’t match Kalle without taking extreme risks, so he focused on solid driving and grabbed the points. A very commendable performance.
Elfyn Evans 8
A good weekend from the Welshman too. Clean and steady. As the championship leader, there was no reason to take unnecessary risks. He remains at the top of the standings and can be happy with that. You don’t need to win every rally – and Evans understood that well.
Takamoto Katsuta 7
A decent drive, but his Sunday performance drops the score a little. He couldn’t find his best pace then. Still, he brought the car home and picked up a decent amount of points. A solid performance overall.
Adrien Fourmaux 7
Hyundai’s best driver all weekend – not that it took much. Still, his performance clearly stood out among his teammates, so he deserves credit.
Ott Tänak 6
This wasn’t Tänak’s rally. Hyundai struggled with car issues all weekend, and at times the Estonian seemed to lose interest. The car explains a lot, but the bigger question is: where’s the fire? Tänak is fast, but during his current Hyundai stint, he’s lacked that aggressive, winning mindset.
Thierry Neuville 5
A miserable weekend from start to finish. The puncture at the end was the icing on the cake. He had tested in Sierra Morena, so you’d expect he had the setup figured out. This is a rally he’ll want to forget quickly.
Gregoire Munster 5
Got the car to the finish and picked up one point on Super Sunday. He started the rally brimming with confidence, but there were few positives to take away.
Josh McErlean 4
The Irishman retired. Before that, there was no pace and no flashes of brilliance. He was just taking part.
Sami Pajari 4
He went into one corner too hot on Saturday and that was that. The car was wrecked and Pajari had to retire. The mistake was entirely his – and he admitted it. A real shame, because before that, he was running fourth and showing promising speed. But as Juha Kankkunen would say – that’s rallying. Time to move forward!
