WRC 2025 result after Round 4: Rally Islas Canarias

Toyota Gazoo Racing continued its FIA World Rally Championship campaign with Kalle Rovanperä delivering an emphatic victory at the front of an outstanding 1-2-3-4 finish in the inaugural Rally Islas Canarias. How did this phenomenal WRC 2025 result play out? Read on as we review each day’s activities.

WRC 2025 result: Rally Islas Canarias

This new event for the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship marked a number of firsts. It represented a return to Spanish territory for the first time since 2022, as well as the first time a WRC round has ever been held on Gran Canaria. As the first pure asphalt round of the season, it was also the first rally with a new hard-compound asphalt tyre — perfect for gripping the volcanic island’s smooth and winding stages.

Kalle Rovanperä wasted no time putting his challenging start to the season behind him by posting the best time in the pre-event shakedown. Then, following a well-attended ceremonial start in the island’s capital, the rally got underway for real.

Day 1

With a trio of stage wins across the opening loop, Rovanperä built a lead of 17.8 seconds over fellow GR Yaris Rally1 driver Sébastien Ogier, with Elfyn Evans just a couple of seconds further back in third. After mid-day service, Rovanperä continued to lead the way with another three stage wins, which increased his advantage to almost 27 seconds by the end of the day.

There was little to separate eight-time world champion Ogier and current championship leader Evans (above) so far, with less than ten seconds between them at the end of the day. Meanwhile, Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta both built their confidence and speed as the day progressed to join their team-mates in Toyota’s incredible top-five lockout.

WRC 2025 result: Day 2

The seven stages of day two were centred around the north of the island and added up to almost 77 miles — the longest of the rally. Clearly very much in his element on these twisting roads, Rovanperä continued his unbeaten, stage-winning run with narrow margins over Ogier in the morning’s first two tests, but then displayed a more dominant success in the third. And it was a similar story in the afternoon, where Rovanperä reached a phenomenal run of 12 consecutive stage wins.

A short super special, partly held inside a packed basketball arena (above), concluded the day. Championship leader Elfyn Evans was fastest on this tight, technical course. But it wasn’t enough to shake-up the existing order: Rovanperä first, Ogier second and Evans third. Takamoto Katsuta was promoted to fourth after Sami Pajari came off the road on a long corner on stage 12. Once the car was returned to service, the decision was taken to retire it from the rally due to the damage sustained.

Day 3

Rovanperä proved to be the fastest and most consistent driver for the third day running. By the end of the day he had won 15 of the entire rally’s 18 stages and never let go of the lead position from rally start to rally end. So while there is no such thing as a foregone conclusion in top-tier rallying, the Finn’s 53.5 second concluding advantage over team-mate Ogier, as well as his Power Stage and Super Sunday wins, was probably as close as anybody has ever got to achieving it. With this 16th career victory, Rovanperä is now the most successful driver Toyota has ever had in the WRC, eclipsing both Ogier and Carlos Sainz.

Ogier was Rovanperä’s closest challenger throughout the weekend, as he and co-driver Vincent Landais made a strong return to action for the first time since their win at January’s Rallye Monte-Carlo. After finally getting the better of Rovanperä in the penultimate stage, Ogier secured second overall and was second fastest in the Power Stage and Super Sunday.

Evans and co-driver Scott Martin completed the podium — the pair’s fourth top-three finish from as many rounds so far this season — and also came third in the Power Stage and Super Sunday. Those results increased the Welshman’s lead in the drivers’ championship to 43 points, with Rovanperä now up into second.

Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston completed the top-four sweep — the third time that Toyota has achieved such a feat after doing so at Safari Rally Kenya in both 2022 and 2023. With a third maximum score of 60 manufacturers’ points from four events, the team’s championship lead is increased to 51.

WRC 2025 result in Round 4: Rally Islas Canarias

WRC 2025 championship standings: drivers and co-drivers

WRC 2025 championship standings: manufacturers

WRC 2025: Where next?

The fifth round of the WRC 2025 calendar is the popular Rally de Portugal. The event takes place on 15-18 May and is based near the northern city of Porto. In a change from the previous round’s grippy asphalt, Portugal’s classic stages feature sandy and rocky gravel roads.

Learn more: How did last year’s WRC end for Toyota?