Kalle Rovanperä reignited his campaign for a third FIA World Rally Championship title by claiming a dominant victory at Rally Islas Canarias on Sunday.
The Finn, who arrived at this fourth round — host to the WRC for the first time — almost 60 points adrift of the championship lead, slashed that deficit to 43 after a commanding start-to-finish performance vaulted him and co-driver Jonne Halttunen from sixth to second in the standings.
Gran Canaria’s technical asphalt roads and sweeping mountain passes posed a unique and unfamiliar challenge for cars, crews and teams. But Rovanperä immediately found a rhythm that nobody else could match, winning 15 of the 18 stages on the 300-kilometre route. He departs the island with the maximum 35 points on offer, thanks to his pace across Super Sunday and the Wolf Power Stage.
“It’s been a super weekend for us and also the whole team. To get a 1-2-3-4 result like this again is quite amazing,” said Rovanperä. “We have just been enjoying the driving. The car has been super fast, so a big thanks to the whole team for preparing it so well. Jonne has also been doing a great job and we drove well so it’s probably one of my best wins so far. It’s not so often on this level when you can be so consistently fast through the whole weekend. To get maximum points was our goal today and we really needed that. It’s still a big gap to Elfyn but at least we are now a step closer and we keep working.”
Rovanperä’s triumph – only his second on asphalt – was secured by 53.5 over Toyota GAZOO Racing team-mate Sébastien Ogier and marked his return to the top step for the first time since Rally Chile Bío Bío seven months ago.
Elfyn Evans completed the podium, 23.6sec adrift of Ogier, further extending his championship lead, while Takamoto Katsuta rounded out a top-four lockout for the GR Yaris Rally1 squad, finishing 45.8sec behind Evans.
“It’s quite amazing,” Rovanperä enthused. “It has not been the best start of the season, but we are definitely – at least in these kinds of condition, we are back now.
“Big congratulations to the whole team at the workshop, everywhere. The cars were so fast. I enjoyed it – a super result for the whole team.”
Evans’ consistency this season continued, with the Welshman and co-driver Scott Martin yet to finish off the podium in 2025. Added to Rovanperä and Ogier’s performances, Toyota’s dominance this week saw its lead in the manufacturers’ championship stretch to 49 points over Hyundai Motorsport.
It proved to be a frustrating week for Hyundai, with all three of its i20 N Rally1 drivers struggling to challenge for the podium after encountering handling issues believed to be related to differential settings. Adrien Fourmaux was the Korean marque’s top finisher in fifth, although the Frenchman trailed Rovanperä by over 2min 30sec at the end. Team-mates Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville followed in sixth and seventh respectively.
Neuville and Tänak had occupied second and third in the drivers’ standings prior to this rally but now slip to third and fifth respectively. Tänak’s weekend was further complicated when his car required an engine change on Saturday night — a task completed in a remarkable 46 minutes – overrunning the penalty-free time by just one minute.
The WRC turns to gravel next month for Vodafone Rally de Portugal, round five of the season, based in the north-west city of Matosinhos from 14 – 19 May.
