Toyota places five cars at the top of the Rally Islas Canarias

Friday in Gran Canaria will remain a memorable day in the 2025 season of the World Rally Championship (WRC): Toyota placed its five GR Yaris Rally1 cars in the top five positions, with Kalle Rovanperä winning all the timed stages.

The Finnish driver, who arrived at this fourth championship event with 57 points less than the leader, took advantage of the characteristics of the Canary asphalt to recover his best performance. Together with his co-driver Jonne Halttunen, he maintained a superior pace to the rest of the participants, ending the day with a 26.8-second advantage over his teammate Sébastien Ogier.

Toyota records excellent times in Gran Canaria

Despite experiencing slight understeer on the third stage (which he won anyway), Rovanperä completed all sections with good times on his return to asphalt routes. "It feels pretty good," mentioned the 24-year-old driver. "It's surprisingly nice to have this type of rally on asphalt, we haven't had it in a long time."

It feels pretty good. It's surprisingly nice to have this type of rally on asphalt, we haven't had it in a long time.

The battle for second place proved interesting for spectators, with Ogier and Evans recording close times during the first stages. However, after Ogier modified his tire pressures following the first section, he gained a 9.6-second advantage over the Welsh driver.

Sami Pajari, participating in only his second time on asphalt with a Rally1, positioned himself in fourth place, 55.3 seconds behind the leader. Takamoto Katsuta completed Toyota's sequence by overtaking Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai) in the penultimate stage to secure fifth place.

Hyundai and Ford seek to improve their performance

The first day proved difficult for Hyundai, with its three drivers occupying the sixth, seventh, and eighth positions. Thierry Neuville, Ott Tänak, and Adrien Fourmaux encountered difficulties with the setup that prevented them from obtaining better results with the hard Hankook Ventus Z215 tires.

"I don't know what to say," commented Neuville. "Days like this are really complicated. But we have two more days ahead, we must maintain a constructive attitude and continue working."

The M-Sport Ford drivers, Grégoire Munster and Josh McErlean, had similar problems. Although they collaborated between stages to make modifications, progress was limited. Munster finished ninth, 2 minutes 11 seconds behind the leader, while McErlean ended up in eleventh position.

In WRC2, French driver Yohan Rossel (Citroën C3 Rally2) led the category with an 18.7-second advantage over Alejandro Cachón, placing tenth in the overall standings.

Toyota shows excellent preparation

Juha Kankkunen, Deputy Director of the Toyota team, related the good results to the work prior to the rally. "Everything worked well today. Our drivers were happy and enjoyed driving on these beautiful roads," he indicated. "I trusted Kalle: we know what he can achieve when conditions are right, and here the car seems to work perfectly for him."

Saturday constitutes the most extensive day of the rally, with more than 120 kilometers divided into seven stages. The day will conclude with a special test inside the Gran Canaria Arena, normally used for basketball games.

Results after the first day (SS6)