Sébastien Ogier Dominates Rally Islas Canarias as Toyota Locks Out Top Five After Day 1

Gran Canaria, Spain, April 25, 2026: Sebastien Ogier delivered a commanding performance on the opening day of Rally Islas Canarias, leading a dominant clean sweep for Toyota Gazoo Racing as all five of its cars occupied the top positions after Friday’s stages.

The nine-time world champion, piloting the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, won four of the day’s five full-length asphalt stages to build a solid 8.9-second lead over teammate Oliver Solberg. Rising Finnish talent Sami Pajari completed the provisional podium, 15.9 seconds adrift of Ogier.

Toyota Dominance on High-Grip Asphalt

Toyota’s supremacy was evident across the technical, high-grip roads of Gran Canaria. Elfyn Evans ended the day fourth, just half a second behind Pajari, while championship leader Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five despite struggling with car balance in the afternoon.

Ogier, returning to action after skipping the Croatia Rally, wasted no time asserting control. He seized the lead on the opening Valleseco–Artenara stage and maintained his advantage throughout the day, also topping both runs of Mogán–La Aldea and the Tejeda–San Mateo test.

“It has been a good day,” Ogier said. “I am starting to enjoy this a lot now.”

Solberg Shines, Pajari Climbs Late

Solberg emerged as Ogier’s closest challenger, even beating the Frenchman by 0.1 seconds on one stage. The young Swede showed strong pace and consistency, climbing from fourth at midday to second overall by day’s end.

Pajari also impressed, making late gains and matching Katsuta’s time on the final super special stage inside Gran Canaria Stadium. Despite earlier concerns over car setup, the Finn remains firmly in podium contention heading into Saturday.

Evans, meanwhile, showed flashes of competitiveness but admitted he lacked consistency to challenge the front-runners.

“We’re not super happy,” Evans said. “We need to find improvements.”

Katsuta Slips, Hyundai Faces Challenges

After leading overnight following Thursday’s opener, Katsuta dropped back due to front-end confidence issues but salvaged some momentum by sharing the fastest time on the final stage.

“At least something positive from the day,” he noted.

It was a tougher outing for Hyundai Motorsport. Dani Sordo led the team’s charge in sixth place on his first appearance of the season, finishing 52 seconds behind Ogier. He was closely followed by Adrien Fourmaux, with Thierry Neuville struggling to find confidence in eighth.

Mixed Fortunes for M-Sport Ford

M-Sport Ford experienced a challenging day. Josh McErlean held ninth after a steady performance, while teammate Jon Armstrong endured multiple setbacks, including mechanical issues and an off-road excursion, dropping him to 11th.

“It has not been our day,” Armstrong admitted, citing transmission trouble and damage sustained earlier in the rally.

WRC2: Rossel Leads the Charge

In the WRC2 category, Yohan Rossel led the field and completed the overall top 10 in his Lancia Ypsilon HF Rally2. He holds a 22-second advantage over Alejandro Cachón, with his brother Léo Rossel third in class.

“It was a great day for the team,” Rossel said. “The feeling in the car was incredible.”