For the first time in the history of the Rally Islas Canarias – Rally of Spain within the WRC (World Rally Championship), rain has made an appearance on the stages. The change in weather was real on two of the three stages run this morning, which has further intensified the battle for the lead between Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais and Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson.
The nine-time World Rally Champion started the second leg with an 8.9-second lead over his teammate, a gap that was reduced to 5.3 seconds by the end of the morning loop. Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin have also joined the fight for the win.
The Welshman was fastest on the ‘Maspalomas’ (SS9) and ‘Arucas – Firgas – Teror’ (SS10) stages, which allowed him to seize third place in the overall standings and move within 18.2 seconds of the leaders. With a pace superior to that of the previous day, the Briton was able to fly over the dry tarmac of the ninth stage as well as the wet track for most of the tenth.
The highlight of the morning was the ‘Moya – Gáldar’ (SS1) stage, the longest of this edition of the 50th Rally Islas Canarias – Rally of Spain at 28.90 km. The effects of the intermittent rain were even more pronounced, making the stage a true challenge for both cars and drivers. Oliver Solberg was the fastest competitor, as he continues to challenge the highly successful Sébastien Ogier.
Behind the leading trio, Sami Pajari / Marko Salminen and Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston are battling for fourth place, which is currently held by the young Finn by a margin of 5.8 seconds. Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria have climbed to sixth place with their Hyundai i20N Rally1. The Frenchman, more satisfied with his car’s setup, has overtaken Dani Sordo / Cándido Carrera in the overall standings.
The Cantabrian driver is currently in seventh position in his return to the WRC’s top category, and remains ahead of the other Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT duo of Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe.
The WRC2 lead continues to be held by the French crew of Yohan Rossel / Arnaud Dunand, who have a 28.8-second advantage over the Spanish duo of Alejandro Cachón / Borja Rozada. Jan Solans / Rodrigo Sanjuán finished seventh, while the best-placed Canary Islander crew remains Enrique Cruz / Yeray Mujica, ninth in WRC2.
After the morning loop, the teams headed to the regrouping and service area at the Gran Canaria Stadium before tackling the second pass of the three stages run this morning. ‘Maspalomas’ (SS12) will kick off the action at 2:50 PM, followed by ‘Arucas – Firgas – Teror’ (SS13) at 4:05 PM, with the dreaded ‘Moya – Gáldar’ (SS14) closing out the longest day of racing in this edition of the 50th Rally Islas Canarias – Rally of Spain at 5:21 PM.
