Ogier heads Yaris 1-2-3-4-5 as Toyota dominates WRC Canary Islands Rally Friday

WRC benchmark Sebastien Ogier headed a Toyota Gazoo Racing lockout of the top five after a near-flawless day for the GR Yaris Rally1 fleet on the race track-like asphalt of the Canary Islands Rally.

The nine-time and reigning FIA World Rally Champion won four of Friday’s five all-asphalt stages to build an 8.9s lead over teammate Oliver Solberg, with Sami Pajari completing the overnight podium a further 7.0s back.

Elfyn Evans ended the day fourth, just 0.5s behind Pajari, while championship leader Takamoto Katsuta completed the top five in another dominant showing for Toyota on the flowing, high-grip roads of Gran Canaria.

Ogier, who returned to WRC action this weekend after skipping the Croatia Rally, moved into the lead on Friday’s opening 8.16-mile Valleseco-Artenara 1 test and never looked back. He was fastest again on both passes of the 13.48-mile Mogan-La Aldea stage, as well as the afternoon run through the 11.57 miles of Tejeda-San Mateo, before the day ended with the short, tight, 1.17-mile super special inside Gran Canaria Stadium.

“It has been a good day,” said Ogier after that final stadium blast, in which he finished a relatively conservative fourth. “I am starting to enjoy this a lot now.”

Solberg was the only driver to beat Ogier on one of the full-length stages, besting the Frenchman by 0.1s on the repeat of Valleseco-Artenara. The 24-year-old Swede admitted the afternoon had not been straightforward, but his pace was enough to climb from fourth at midday to second by the end of the day.

Oliver Solberg (above) was the only driver to beat Toyota teammate Sebastien Ogier on a full-length stage.

Pajari also moved up the order late in the day, matching Katsuta’s fastest time on the final stadium stage to edge ahead of Evans into third overall. The Finn had noted earlier in the afternoon that setup changes had not delivered the improvement he wanted, but he remained firmly in the podium fight.

Evans, meanwhile, was left searching for more after a day in which he showed flashes of pace, but could not consistently match Ogier and Solberg at the sharp end.

“I’m not super happy as we wanted more from the day and Oliver and Seb have been faster,” said Evans. “We need to find some improvements.”

WRC points leader Katsuta had led overnight after Thursday’s stadium opener. But his chances of a third-straight win after victories in Kenya and Croatia looked slim as he struggled for front-end confidence during the afternoon and slipped to 29.7s off the lead. He did however end the day on a positive note by sharing the fastest time on the leg-ending stadium blast.

“At least something positive from the day,” he said of that late confidence booster. “[Otherwise,] I really struggled today.”

Hyundai Motorsport endured a more difficult Friday, with Dani Sordo the best of its trio of i20 N Rally1 runners in sixth overall on his first WRC appearance of the season. The Spaniard ended the day 52.0s from the lead, just 2.8s ahead of Adrien Fourmaux, with Thierry Neuville eighth after struggling to trust the front of his car through the mountainous stages’ long, committed corners.

Dani Sordo (above) is best of the non-Toyotas in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1, albeit 52.0s off rally leader Sebastien Ogier.

M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean held ninth overnight after a steady day in his Puma Rally1, while teammate Jon Armstrong dropped to 11th after an eventful Friday that included a trip down an escape road on the third stage of the morning, wheel rim damage on the penultimate test, and a transmission issue on the final stadium stage.

“It has not been our day,” said Armstrong. “Doing the tire warmup on the way to the [final] stage we broke something and we had to do it with front-wheel drive only. We just had to get around.”

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Yohan Rossel ended Friday with a commanding class lead after a strong opening day on Gran Canaria’s high-grip asphalt.

The Frenchman is aiming for a second-successive WRC2 win for WRC-returnee Lancia’s Ypsilon HF Rally2 and completed the opening leg 22.0s clear of Alejandro Cachon. Rossel’s younger brother and championship leader Leo Rossel is a further 4.9s back in third.

The older Rossel moved ahead of his brother on Friday morning’s Valleseco-Artenara test, then stretched the gap significantly on Mogan-La Aldea, where he was 10.1s faster than his Citroen C3-driving sibling. Further time gains followed in the afternoon as Yohan continued to manage the tires and rhythm better than the chasing pack.

Yohan Rossel’s quest for a second-straight WRC2 win for WRC returnee Lancia’s Ypsilon HF Rally2 is going to plan so far.

Saturday’s second leg brings the longest day of the rally, with crews facing two passes of 8.37-mile Maspalomas, 8.54-mile Arucas-Firgas-Teror and the 17.96 miles of Moya-Gáldar.

WRC Canary Islands Rally, positions after Friday/Leg One, SS8
1 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 54m27.5s
2 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +8.9s
3 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +15.9s
4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +16.4s
5 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +29.7s
6 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +52.0s
7 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +54.8s
8 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m03.6s
9 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m41.1s
10 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Lancia Ypsilon HF Rally2 – WRC2 leader) +1m59.5s

Catch WRC action from all rounds of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship on RACER Network and the RACER+ App.

Tune in on Monday, April 27 at 9.00pm ET for full highlights from the Canary Island Rally. It’s the WRC’s second all-asphalt round of the season, so get set for race track-style action on the fast, wide mountain roads around capital city Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

And for the latest happenings from the world rally scene, check out the WRC Magazine Show. New episodes air on the RACER Network on the Thursday before each WRC round.

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