Rovanpera wins WRC Rally Islas Canarias ahead of Ogier and Evans
28th April 2025Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera has secured his first win of the 2025 season after a dominant weekend at the World Rally Championship’s Rally Islas Canarias.
Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool
It was Rovanpera’s weekend to lose in Gran Canaria as the two-time world rally champion put in a dominant performance to catapult him into title contention. After 18 stages, the Finnish driver took all but three stage wins.
Gran Canaria was also a dominant weekend for Toyota. The Japanese marque took home a maximum point-scoring weekend, having finished one-two across all point-scoring aspects of the weekend—the rally, Super Sunday, and the power stage.
The defending team champions, Toyota, won all but one stage across the 18-stage event.
However, it was the end M-Sport Ford’s Joshua McErlean would’ve hoped for as the Irishman ran wide on a right-hand bend and suffered heavy damage after hitting the barrier, on the first stage of the day.
Who finished where?
Rovanpera was the fastest driver on the Canary Islands with an elapsed time of two hours, 54 minutes, and 39.8 seconds. Having taken the fastest time across the weekend, Super Sunday and the power stage, it meant the Finnish driver takes home a maximum points haul of 35 points.
He was followed home by eight-time champion Sebastien Ogier and the championship leader, Elfyn Evans, who locked out an all-Toyota podium in second and third, respectively.
Takamoto Katsuta finished fourth to complete the Toyota entries.
Hyundai’s trio of Adrien Fourmaux, Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville finished the event in fifth, sixth and seventh.
The defending champion dropped down in the group as he suffered a puncture on the second run of Aguimes-Santa Lucia, losing one minute and 12.4 seconds in the process.
Yohan Rossel, in the WRC2 category, led the remaining three drivers inside the top 10, ahead of Alejandro Cachon and Nikolay Gryazin.
M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster found himself just outside the top 10, in 11th, eight minutes and 37.2 seconds behind Rovanpera’s leading time.
Read more WRC here:
- Rovanpera claims victory in WRC Rally Islas Canarias
- Joshua McErlean crashes on opening Sunday WRC stage Rally Islas Canarias
- Kalle Rovanpera commands second day of WRC Rally Islas Canarias
- Rovanpera continues form on Saturday morning in WRC Rally Islas Canarias
- Rovanpera dominates opening day of WRC Rally Islas Canarias
- Weather Report: WRC Rally Islas Canarias 2025
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
