Alejandro Cachón and Borja Rozada have taken the lead in the 48th Rally Islas Canarias at the end of Friday's first section. The Spaniards, in the debut weekend of their Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 on the abrasive roads of the volcanic islands, reach the midpoint of the day with a 3.8’’ advantage over Mathieu Franceschi and Andy Malfoy, who shared the second position in the overall ranking with Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud.

The initial passes through the stages of ‘Agüimes-Santa Lucía’, ‘Tejeda’ and ‘Artenara-Gáldar’ revealed an incredible parity among the wide range of contenders for the victory. Cachón and Rozada, performers of the best times in two of theses special stages, return to the service park of the island round with a minimal margin over their immediate pursuers. These are Franceschi and Malfoy, who with their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 are making notable progress on a surface where they don’t have much experience.

Bonato and Boulloud, with their Citroën C3 Rally2, hold the third position, although tied to the tenth with Franceschi and Malfoy. The Frenchmen, who bear the responsibility of opening the road after winning the 'Qualifying Stage' held yesterday in the municipality of Santa María de Guía, placed themselves ahead of Hayden Paddon and John Kennard. The defending champions of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), despite not feeling fully comfortable with their Hyundai i20 N Rally2, remain in the limelight.

Diego Ruiloba and Ángel Vela complete the provisional top five with their Citroën C3 Rally2, while Jon Armstrong and Eoin Treacy sit in sixth place at the controls of their Ford Fiesta Rally2. The Polish duo Miko Marczyk and Szymon Gospodarczyk, facing some brake issues, are seventh with their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. Mads Ostberg and Torstein Eriksen follow closely with their Citroën C3 Rally2.

José Antonio Suárez and Alberto Iglesias, sharing a cockpit in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, are placed ninth. The Czechs Erik Cais and Igot Bacigál, also aboard a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 unit, occupy the tenth position. The best Canarian drivers in the ERC are Yeray Lemes and Rogelio Peñate, placed eleventh with their Citroën C3 Rally2.

At the time of issuing this press release, the classifications of the support categories of the ERC are pending the times that the stewards assign to the teams affected by the interruption of the special stages of 'Agüimes-Santa Lucía' and 'Tejeda'.