Toyota Dominates Rally Islas Canarias with Ogier's Victory

The Toyota team reasserts its supremacy at the Rally Islas Canarias, where Sébastien Ogier claimed victory after a teammate's incident, and Elfyn Evans took the World Championship lead.

Image of a rally car in action on a dirt track, kicking up dust.
IA

Image of a rally car in action on a dirt track, kicking up dust.

The Toyota team has once again demonstrated its superiority at the Rally Islas Canarias, securing top positions and seeing Sébastien Ogier crowned champion, while Elfyn Evans takes over as the new World Championship leader.

The Toyota team has reaffirmed its dominance at the Rally Islas Canarias for the second consecutive year. Despite an incident involving one of their drivers in the penultimate stage of the 50th edition of the event, the Japanese brand managed to place all four of its vehicles in the top positions of the classification. The experienced driver Sébastien Ogier added another trophy to his record, achieving his ninth world title.
The Ingenio-Telde-Valsequillo section proved to be the most decisive of the competition. Adverse weather conditions during the early morning caused difficulties for the participants. It was in the second pass of this section where the driver in second position, attempting to close the gap with Ogier, suffered an accident, colliding with a guardrail and a palm tree, forcing him to retire from the race.
With his teammate out of the equation, French driver Ogier focused on managing his lead in the final test of the day, the Wolf Power Stage, held between Santa Lucía and Agüimes. He finished in third position, yielding valuable points to Elfyn Evans, who seized the opportunity to snatch the World Championship lead from another teammate.
Among the Spanish drivers, Dani Sordo, the sole representative in the Rally1 category, showed strong initial performance, being the fastest Hyundai driver on the first day. However, his competitiveness waned as the stages progressed, and he was eventually overtaken by his teammates. Meanwhile, Asturian driver Alejandro Cachón excelled in the Rally2 category, securing second place and being crowned winner of the WRC2 Challenger category, surpassing his Italian rival by a significant margin.
Canarian participation was highlighted by Enrique Cruz, who achieved ninth place in the Rally2 category. The Gran Canarian co-driver, an ambassador for the Rally Islas Canarias, along with his Paraguayan partner, also secured a notable twelfth position in Rally2 and ninth in the Challenger category.
An incident in the Las Vegas (Valsequillo) area nearly led to the suspension of a section for the second time in this edition, but the swift action of the authorities resolved the situation, ensuring the rally's continuation. The distribution of 'scratchs' in this edition was more equitable than the previous year, with several Toyota drivers recording the best times in different sections.