Kalle Rovanperä continued his strong run at Rally Islas Canarias, winning 12 out of the 13 stages so far. He kept the rally lead at the end of Day 2 and admitted things have gone very smoothly. “I didn’t even push. The speed is good because everything works together”, he said after finishing the morning loop.
The only stage Rovanperä didn’t win was SS13, the WRC’s very first basketball-themed stage, running through a sports arena in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. This short and tricky city stage made many drivers choose not to take big risks. Evans was first, Ogier second and Rovanperä, Neuville, and Gryazin all finished with exactly the same time — 1:33.9. Alejandro Cachón was very close too, ending up sixth, just 0.2 seconds behind.
Unfortunately, Toyota’s stronghold took a hit during SS12, the last long stage of the day (23.30 km). Sami Pajari, who had been impressing everyone, missed a fast left-hand corner and slid into a guardrail. Luckily, the barrier held up and prevented him from flying off the road, but the damage to his car was too big to continue. Pajari had to stop his Toyota GR Yaris just a few meters later and retire from the rally.
After Pajari’s exit, Adrien Fourmaux moved up. He went back to a car setup similar to the one he used on the first day, which helped him overtake Thierry Neuville for fifth place overall.
However, that was the best news of the day for both Fourmaux and Hyundai. None of the Hyundai i20 cars could catch up with the leading Toyotas. Neuville explained his struggles: “I have no other differentials available this weekend. I’m stuck with what I have. I have tested every setting and tried my best.”
At the end of Saturday, Rovanperä leads with a total time of 2:22:17.3. Sébastien Ogier is second, 45.2 seconds behind. Elfyn Evans holds third place, trailing by 1:08.1.
In WRC2, there was also some bad luck. Léo Rossel crashed in SS12 and had to retire. His brother Yohan Rossel now leads WRC2 with a time of 2:28:03.2. Cachón is second, +18.8 seconds behind, and Gryazin sits third, +42.6 seconds back.