Photo credit: www.autosport.com
Kalle Rovanpera Dominates at Rally Islas Canarias
Kalle Rovanpera launched his 2025 World Rally Championship season with a remarkable victory at Rally Islas Canarias, showcasing one of the most impressive performances of his career.
Alongside co-driver Jonne Halttunen, Rovanpera expertly maneuvered through the smooth asphalt roads of Gran Canaria, winning 14 out of 18 stages. His dominant performance led to a decisive victory by 53.5 seconds over his Toyota teammate and eight-time world champion, Sebastien Ogier.
“It is quite amazing. It has not been the best start to the season but certainly in this kind of conditions we are back now,” Rovanpera remarked after his impressive win.
Toyota displayed exceptional dominance at the event, marking its debut in the WRC, with Elfyn Evans [+1m17.1s] and Takamoto Katsuta [+2m02.9s] rounding out a remarkable 1-2-3-4 finish for the manufacturer, while competitors from Hyundai faced a challenging rally.
Despite not being favored to win due to previous struggles with the new Hankook tyres for 2025, Rovanpera found his stride in Gran Canaria. He managed to produce a series of stage wins with consistent speed and minimal risk.
Rovanpera achieved 12 consecutive fastest times over the course of Friday and Saturday, a streak that concluded during the super special stage 13 at the CB Gran Canaria basketball court.
Heading into Sunday’s final five stages, Rovanpera held a commanding 45.2-second lead over Ogier. Although he faced setbacks in stages 16 and 17, he ultimately secured his first victory since September of last year by triumphing in the Power Stage, earning the maximum 35 points available.
Sébastien Ogier, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Ogier, known for his speed on asphalt, was unable to keep pace with Rovanpera throughout the rally. This event marked his first WRC appearance since winning the round in Monte Carlo earlier this year. He acknowledged that he struggled with the new hard compound tyres compared to his teammate, although he did eventually claim an outright stage win on stage 17.
Evans maintained a consistent performance, finishing third despite not matching the pace of Rovanpera and Ogier. This solid finish helps him retain his championship lead, extending it to 43 points, while Rovanpera climbed from sixth to second in the standings.
Hyundai, on the other hand, misjudged the challenges posed by the asphalt rally and struggled to achieve the right setup across its trio of i20 N Rally1 cars, driven by Thierry Neuville, Adrien Fourmaux, and Ott Tanak. The team characterized their performances on Saturday and Sunday as essentially experimental, aiming to identify issues with their 2025 vehicle on tarmac conditions.
Fourmaux emerged as the best-performing Hyundai driver, having used a different differential setup than his teammates. He briefly occupied fourth place on Friday before encountering handling issues that forced him down the rankings early Saturday. Although he recovered his position, he lamented another setup mishap on Sunday, ultimately finishing as the top Hyundai in fifth [+2m31.0s] after Sami Pajari’s crash on stage 12 disrupted Toyota’s potential for a complete dominance.
Neuville was set to finish sixth but suffered a front left puncture in the penultimate stage, dropping him to seventh behind Tanak, who had changed his engine on Saturday night. Neuville managed to salvage a point from the Power Stage.
Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport
M-Sport-Ford struggled to find an effective setup on Gran Canaria’s roads as well. Rally1 rookie Josh McErlean, who was in the top 10 heading into Sunday, crashed out during the morning’s opening stage. Teammate Gregoire Munster managed to recover from an off-road incident on Saturday to secure an 11th place finish.
In the WRC2 class, Yohan Rossel clinched victory with an eighth overall finish, ahead of local driver Alejandro Cachon and Nikolay Gryazin, who completed the top ten.
Source
www.autosport.com