Sébastien Ogier, the defending world rally champion, has increased his lead during the Rally Canary Islands, with Toyota dominating over their rivals like Hyundai and M-Sport Ford. The competition, held Friday morning, showed a clear superiority of Toyota, which took the top five positions on the smooth asphalt of the Spanish island.
After a reduced morning round, Ogier placed himself with a 5.9-second lead over his teammate Pajari. The third stage was canceled for safety reasons, as several spectators’ vehicles had been parked improperly near the scheduled stages.
Ogier moved from sixth to first position after winning the opening stage by just 0.5 seconds against Oliver Solberg. Upon resuming action in stage four, Ogier showcased his speed, winning the stage by 4.2 seconds over Evans, his teammate, thus consolidating his lead before the midday service.
“The Toyotas are showing great pace compared to the others and there are still small improvements to be made, we are fine-tuning details to reach the best setup,” commented Ogier, highlighting the intense competition among Toyota drivers.
Pajari, who emerged as Ogier’s main competitor, did not seem entirely satisfied with his performance, pointing out that his run was not as smooth as he expected. “The feeling is not what I was expecting, maybe the grip was low in the morning due to the low temperatures,” he expressed.
The results from the first part of the day were notable, with Evans completing the round in third position, and Solberg in fourth, although feeling frustrated due to grip issues. Fifth place was occupied by the previous day’s leader, Takamoto Katsuta, who also struggled with the same grip problems.
Hyundai’s strategy
Hyundai, for its part, anticipated that this rally would be one of the most challenging for their i20 N model. In previous years, the team had fallen behind on asphalt, and once again, all three vehicles couldn’t keep pace set by Toyota. Dani Sordo positioned himself as the best of the team, finishing sixth at 19.2 seconds from the leader.
Here it was emphasized that the team continues working for improvement, defending a positive and united approach. Meanwhile, his teammates, Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville, struggled with confidence and ended up in seventh and eighth positions, respectively.
M-Sport-Ford driver Josh McErlean achieved a ninth position, while Jon Armstrong fell to 11th after a dangerous moment in one of the stages. The competition continues, and all signs point to an intense battle for the podium in the coming days.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
