WRC Rally Islas Canarias: SS3 cancelled due to spectator cars
24th April 2026The third stage of the World Rally Championship’s Rally Islas Canarias has been cancelled due to ‘wrongly parked’ cars, as Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta loses rally lead.
Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool
Action got underway on Friday morning, 8:25am local time, with the opening stage of the day: Valleseco-Artenara 1, a 13km test. However, the day has been shortened by a stage after the Clerk of the Course cancelled the second test on Friday morning.
The decision came just before 9am, at 8:50am, just after the second stage of the event concluded.
The Clerk had confirmed they were required to ‘remove a significant number of wrongly parked spectator cars,’ as the reason for the cancellation of the Tejeda-San Mateo 1 stage.
Takamoto Katsuta takes overnight lead at Rally Islas Canarias
In the Clerk’s bulletin, they said:
“In order to remove a significant number of wrongly parked spectator cars, SS3 is cancelled.
“All crews are required to check in at TC 3 at their due times, then proceed to the start of SS 3 to get their start time for the road section.
“Between TC 3 and start of SS3 all crews are required to drive at slow speed due to two-way traffic.
“From the start of SS 3 the crews shall follow the alternative route (RB 1&2 – p115). Target time to TC 4 remains the same, 1h 50min.”
It means the next stage will be the fourth overall test of the weekend, the 21km Mogan-La Aldea 1 course, which will get underway at 11:16am (local) – the final stage of the morning loop.
However, there has already been a change in the lead in the overall standings, as Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier has taken over at the top, demoting Takamoto Katsuta to second place.
Ogier managed to clear the first test of the day with a 7m 38.3s sprint through the 13km stage, beating teammate Oliver Solberg by 0.5 seconds.
With Katsuta finishing fifth overall out on the course, 2.2 seconds adrift of the nine-time world champion, it meant he now sits second, 0.8s behind. Toyota’s Sami Pajari completes a Toyota 1-2-3, in third, 0.9s away from Ogier.
Read more WRC here:
- Takamoto Katsuta takes overnight lead at Rally Islas Canarias
- Oliver Solberg tops opening test of Rally Islas Canarias shakedown
- Sebastien Ogier aiming for Rally Islas Canarias victory to go ‘one better’ than last year
- Hyundai to reset and refocus for WRC Rally Islas Canarias after Croatia heartbreak
- Rally Islas Canarias: The full WRC stage guide and times
- Katsuta jokes to get ‘tips’ from Rovanpera ahead of WRC Rally Islas Canarias
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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.
