Double world champion Kalle Rovanpera led a Toyota charge on the first full day of the Canary Islands Rally on Friday with the Japanese manufacturer filling the top five places.
Rovanpera was fastest on all six asphalt stages of the season’s fourth round in Gran Canaria and was leading eight-times world champion Sebastien Ogier by 26.8 seconds with championship leader Elfyn Evans third and a further 9.6 back.
Sami Pajari was fourth and Takamoto Katsuta fifth.
Hyundai’s reigning world champion Thierry Neuville was only sixth, ahead of team mates Ott Tanak and Adrien Fourmaux.
“It feels quite good,” said Rovanpera of his day. “It’s surprisingly nice to have this kind of Tarmac rally. We haven’t had it in a long time.”
Saturday sees the longest leg of the rally, making its world championship debut, with seven stages and more than 120km of action.
