Sébastien Ogier won the Rally Islas Canarias yesterday in a 1-2-3-4 finish for Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT), the culmination of a thrilling battle between the team’s drivers.
From the start last Thursday, the GR YarisRally1 was the dominant car on the asphalt roads of Gran Canaria, winning all of the event’s 17 stages. There was little to separate the five TGR-WRT drivers, however, who were locked in an exciting battle for the victory that went down to the final day.
Ogier led the rally from the first proper mountain stage on Friday morning until the very end, but he was pushed hard by his team-mates and his lead was never greater than nine seconds across the first two full days of competition.
It was Oliver Solberg who emerged as Ogier’s strongest competitor. He closed to within 3.8s by the end of Saturday, before cutting the gap to 2.2s with wins in the first two stages on Sunday. In the rally’s penultimate stage however he ran slightly wide over a crest and made contact with a barrier, damaging his car and forcing him and co-driver Elliott Edmondson to retire.
Ogier and his co-driver Vincent Landais won the same stage and went on to claim their first victory of the season by 19.9s.
Elfyn Evans finished second overall with co-driver Scott Martin, having also been a factor in the battle for first for much of the weekend. He won three stages on Saturday as changeable weather conditions blew in from the Atlantic and remained close to the pace of Ogier and Solberg on the final day in pursuit of additional championship points.
Evans ultimately won the Power Stage by 2.7s and the Super Sunday classification by 2s to reclaim the lead of the drivers’ championship.
Sami Pajari continued his strong recent form to secure a fourth successive podium finish together with co-driver Marko Salminen in third place overall.
Takamoto Katsuta came into the rally leading the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career and improved his pace during the event to finish just 10.4s behind Pajari in fourth together with co-driver Aaron Johnston.
Katsuta was second to Evans in the Power Stage and fourth in Super Sunday behind Ogier and Pajari and is now second in the championship, two points behind Evans. Pajari is up to third, 29 points from the lead, with Solberg four further back in fourth.
TGR-WRT scored 59 of the available 60 manufacturers’ points to increase their championship lead to 98.
The team’s third podium lockout in five rounds so far this season takes Toyota past the 300-podium mark across its WRC participation, with 302 now to its name.
Spanish duo Alejandro Cachón and Borja Rozada finished 10th overall and second in the WRC2 class in their GR Yaris Rally2 car entered by Toyota Spain and run by MSi Racing Team.
TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Yuki Yamamoto was running well in eighth position in the highly competitive class against many experienced and proven winners on asphalt until he clipped a barrier in Saturday’s final stage and had to stop and change a wheel and tyre, conceding two minutes. He and co-driver James Fulton continued to set competitive pace on Sunday on their way to 15th place in class.
Team quotes
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal): It has been a fantastic rally for us with a very good result at the end of it. We had the same 1-2-3-4 result last year and I was dreaming that we could repeat that, and we have managed to do it. It is a pity what happened to Oliver today because he was driving a very good rally until that point and it was a very exciting battle between him and Seb, but these things can happen when you have the chance to win like he did. Seb is so hard to beat with his experience, and Elfyn and Sami have both done a great job to be on the podium as well. It’s a big pleasure to lead this team: the atmosphere is fantastic, everybody is giving 100 percent, and that’s how we achieve results like this.”
Elfyn Evans (driver car 33): “It’s been a solid weekend for us with a pretty good final day and a good haul of points at the end. We made a bit of a slow start on Friday and that really put us too far back in the fight for the win, but things have worked out well in the end. It was very close again today between us, Seb and Oliver. It was unfortunate what happened to Oliver, but congratulations to Seb, who has driven an exceptional weekend and deserves the win.”
Sébastien Ogier (driver car 1): “First of all, this has been a very enjoyable rally. The team have given us an amazing car to drive once again and it was a lot of fun behind the wheel. It was very close all weekend with my team-mates and especially with Oliver, so I feel sorry for him and for Elliott because they were delivering another strong performance. On our side, we can be happy and proud about the job we’ve done and I’m happy to add a new rally to my palmarès. It’s been a fantastic performance by the team, so hats off once more to everybody for their efforts.”
Oliver Solberg (driver car 99); “What happened today was a big disappointment. It had been a fantastic fight all weekend with Seb and Elfyn, and I had a great feeling in the car and just tried to drive with my normal rhythm. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake in this right-hander over a jump. On the first pass we had been much slower in the rain, and now in the dry I was just too optimistic, jumped a bit too far and into the rail on the left-hand side. I’m just sorry for the team. It’s been a big learning curve so far this year, but we will try to take the positives again and look forward to the next rally.”
Takamoto Katsuta (driver car 18): “This rally started with a very difficult Friday for me, but it got a lot better on Saturday and I was starting to feel much more comfortable with the car. I was still struggling a bit to get the best from the tyres, but today on the final day I tried to change my driving style and it was working better and we could take some good points. There’s still room to improve, but it’s going in the right direction at least and I have a good idea how to improve my driving for asphalt, which will be important at Rally Japan.”
Sami Pajari (driver car 5): “It’s always positive when you can finish on the podium, and especially now to have four in a row at this point in my career. This is great for us. Still, this weekend I felt I had a bit more to give. There were some good stages and good sections, but also some other things which we need to work on and improve for the future. It’s nice to see we can take these podiums, but you always want more. But I’m happy with this result and another great performance from the whole team.”
Akio Toyoda (Chairman, TGR-WRT): Seb, Vincent - congratulations on your first victory of the 2026 season. I would also like to thank everyone on the team for delivering a 1-2-3-4 finish. Oliver, too, kept Seb under pressure until the final day, chasing him with only a few seconds between them. This rally was made possible by the overall strength of the entire team, something that cannot be achieved by the car alone or the drivers alone. Again, thank you to everyone on the team. The close battle for victory between the very experienced Seb and the young Oliver was truly exciting. I heard that even while Oliver was closing in within just a few seconds, Seb continued, as he always does, to offer advice to Oliver. I believe that this kind of warm knowledge sharing from Seb truly strengthens the team. It also contributes to enhancing the greatness of the sport. Thank you, Seb. I also hope that Oliver’s fight for the lead with Seb, and his retirement this time, will lead to further growth for him. So far this year, Oliver has won, Elfyn has won, Takamoto has achieved back to back victories, and this time, Seb has won. Sami – keep pushing hard toward your first WRC victory.”
PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY ISLAS CANARIAS
1 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 2h43m18.9s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +19.9s
3 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m40.8s
4 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m51.2s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m29.5s
6 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) + 3m41.0s
7 Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) + 3m57.7s
8 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +5m45.4s
9 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale) +7m24.3s
10 Alejandro Cachón/Borja Rozada (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +7m49.4s
Retired Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1)
(Results as of 14:30 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
2026 FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 5:
1 Elfyn Evans 101 points
2 Takamoto Katsuta 99
3 Sami Pajari 72
4 Oliver Solberg 68
5 Adrien Fourmaux 59
6 Sébastien Ogier 58
7 Thierry Neuville 35
8 Esapekka Lappi 21
9 Yohan Rossel 20
10 Léo Rossel 18
2026 FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 5:
1 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team 265 points
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 167
3 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT2 75
4 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 63
What’s next?
A return to gravel comes at the popular Rally de Portugal on 7-10 May. Based in Matosinhos near Porto in the north of the country, it features classic stages on sandy and rocky roads.
ENDS
The post Ogier wins Rally Islas Canarias after thrilling intra-team battle appeared first on Toyota Media Site.
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From the start last Thursday, the GR YarisRally1 was the dominant car on the asphalt roads of Gran Canaria, winning all of the event’s 17 stages. There was little to separate the five TGR-WRT drivers, however, who were locked in an exciting battle for the victory that went down to the final day.
Ogier led the rally from the first proper mountain stage on Friday morning until the very end, but he was pushed hard by his team-mates and his lead was never greater than nine seconds across the first two full days of competition.
It was Oliver Solberg who emerged as Ogier’s strongest competitor. He closed to within 3.8s by the end of Saturday, before cutting the gap to 2.2s with wins in the first two stages on Sunday. In the rally’s penultimate stage however he ran slightly wide over a crest and made contact with a barrier, damaging his car and forcing him and co-driver Elliott Edmondson to retire.
Ogier and his co-driver Vincent Landais won the same stage and went on to claim their first victory of the season by 19.9s.
Elfyn Evans finished second overall with co-driver Scott Martin, having also been a factor in the battle for first for much of the weekend. He won three stages on Saturday as changeable weather conditions blew in from the Atlantic and remained close to the pace of Ogier and Solberg on the final day in pursuit of additional championship points.
Evans ultimately won the Power Stage by 2.7s and the Super Sunday classification by 2s to reclaim the lead of the drivers’ championship.
Sami Pajari continued his strong recent form to secure a fourth successive podium finish together with co-driver Marko Salminen in third place overall.
Takamoto Katsuta came into the rally leading the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career and improved his pace during the event to finish just 10.4s behind Pajari in fourth together with co-driver Aaron Johnston.
Katsuta was second to Evans in the Power Stage and fourth in Super Sunday behind Ogier and Pajari and is now second in the championship, two points behind Evans. Pajari is up to third, 29 points from the lead, with Solberg four further back in fourth.
TGR-WRT scored 59 of the available 60 manufacturers’ points to increase their championship lead to 98.
The team’s third podium lockout in five rounds so far this season takes Toyota past the 300-podium mark across its WRC participation, with 302 now to its name.
Spanish duo Alejandro Cachón and Borja Rozada finished 10th overall and second in the WRC2 class in their GR Yaris Rally2 car entered by Toyota Spain and run by MSi Racing Team.
TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Yuki Yamamoto was running well in eighth position in the highly competitive class against many experienced and proven winners on asphalt until he clipped a barrier in Saturday’s final stage and had to stop and change a wheel and tyre, conceding two minutes. He and co-driver James Fulton continued to set competitive pace on Sunday on their way to 15th place in class.
Team quotes
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal): It has been a fantastic rally for us with a very good result at the end of it. We had the same 1-2-3-4 result last year and I was dreaming that we could repeat that, and we have managed to do it. It is a pity what happened to Oliver today because he was driving a very good rally until that point and it was a very exciting battle between him and Seb, but these things can happen when you have the chance to win like he did. Seb is so hard to beat with his experience, and Elfyn and Sami have both done a great job to be on the podium as well. It’s a big pleasure to lead this team: the atmosphere is fantastic, everybody is giving 100 percent, and that’s how we achieve results like this.”
Elfyn Evans (driver car 33): “It’s been a solid weekend for us with a pretty good final day and a good haul of points at the end. We made a bit of a slow start on Friday and that really put us too far back in the fight for the win, but things have worked out well in the end. It was very close again today between us, Seb and Oliver. It was unfortunate what happened to Oliver, but congratulations to Seb, who has driven an exceptional weekend and deserves the win.”
Sébastien Ogier (driver car 1): “First of all, this has been a very enjoyable rally. The team have given us an amazing car to drive once again and it was a lot of fun behind the wheel. It was very close all weekend with my team-mates and especially with Oliver, so I feel sorry for him and for Elliott because they were delivering another strong performance. On our side, we can be happy and proud about the job we’ve done and I’m happy to add a new rally to my palmarès. It’s been a fantastic performance by the team, so hats off once more to everybody for their efforts.”
Oliver Solberg (driver car 99); “What happened today was a big disappointment. It had been a fantastic fight all weekend with Seb and Elfyn, and I had a great feeling in the car and just tried to drive with my normal rhythm. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake in this right-hander over a jump. On the first pass we had been much slower in the rain, and now in the dry I was just too optimistic, jumped a bit too far and into the rail on the left-hand side. I’m just sorry for the team. It’s been a big learning curve so far this year, but we will try to take the positives again and look forward to the next rally.”
Takamoto Katsuta (driver car 18): “This rally started with a very difficult Friday for me, but it got a lot better on Saturday and I was starting to feel much more comfortable with the car. I was still struggling a bit to get the best from the tyres, but today on the final day I tried to change my driving style and it was working better and we could take some good points. There’s still room to improve, but it’s going in the right direction at least and I have a good idea how to improve my driving for asphalt, which will be important at Rally Japan.”
Sami Pajari (driver car 5): “It’s always positive when you can finish on the podium, and especially now to have four in a row at this point in my career. This is great for us. Still, this weekend I felt I had a bit more to give. There were some good stages and good sections, but also some other things which we need to work on and improve for the future. It’s nice to see we can take these podiums, but you always want more. But I’m happy with this result and another great performance from the whole team.”
Akio Toyoda (Chairman, TGR-WRT): Seb, Vincent - congratulations on your first victory of the 2026 season. I would also like to thank everyone on the team for delivering a 1-2-3-4 finish. Oliver, too, kept Seb under pressure until the final day, chasing him with only a few seconds between them. This rally was made possible by the overall strength of the entire team, something that cannot be achieved by the car alone or the drivers alone. Again, thank you to everyone on the team. The close battle for victory between the very experienced Seb and the young Oliver was truly exciting. I heard that even while Oliver was closing in within just a few seconds, Seb continued, as he always does, to offer advice to Oliver. I believe that this kind of warm knowledge sharing from Seb truly strengthens the team. It also contributes to enhancing the greatness of the sport. Thank you, Seb. I also hope that Oliver’s fight for the lead with Seb, and his retirement this time, will lead to further growth for him. So far this year, Oliver has won, Elfyn has won, Takamoto has achieved back to back victories, and this time, Seb has won. Sami – keep pushing hard toward your first WRC victory.”
PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY ISLAS CANARIAS
1 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 2h43m18.9s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +19.9s
3 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m40.8s
4 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m51.2s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m29.5s
6 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) + 3m41.0s
7 Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) + 3m57.7s
8 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +5m45.4s
9 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale) +7m24.3s
10 Alejandro Cachón/Borja Rozada (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +7m49.4s
Retired Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1)
(Results as of 14:30 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
2026 FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 5:
1 Elfyn Evans 101 points
2 Takamoto Katsuta 99
3 Sami Pajari 72
4 Oliver Solberg 68
5 Adrien Fourmaux 59
6 Sébastien Ogier 58
7 Thierry Neuville 35
8 Esapekka Lappi 21
9 Yohan Rossel 20
10 Léo Rossel 18
2026 FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 5:
1 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team 265 points
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 167
3 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT2 75
4 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 63
What’s next?
A return to gravel comes at the popular Rally de Portugal on 7-10 May. Based in Matosinhos near Porto in the north of the country, it features classic stages on sandy and rocky roads.
ENDS
The post Ogier wins Rally Islas Canarias after thrilling intra-team battle appeared first on Toyota Media Site.
Continue reading...
