Evans Leads WRC After Ogier Wins Rally Islas Canarias

Elfyn Evans regained the WRC lead after finishing second to Sebastien Ogier at Rally Islas Canarias. Toyota dominated the event, with challenges faced by Irish drivers Jon Armstrong and Josh McErlean.

Evans Returns to WRC Lead Following Ogier's Victory

Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin, who have been World Rally Championship runners-up five times, have seen Evans regain the lead in the championship standings. This followed his second-place finish behind Sebastien Ogier at the Rally Islas Canarias.

The Welsh driver earned a maximum 10 Sunday bonus points in addition to 17 points for finishing runner-up. This performance has placed him two points ahead of his Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta after five of the 14 rounds in the season.

Evans, aged 37, completed the rally 19.9 seconds behind eight-time world champion Ogier. Finland's Sami Pajari secured third place, with Japan's Katsuta and Irish co-driver Aaron Johnston finishing fourth. Toyota's Gazoo Racing team dominated by occupying the top four positions.

"It has been a solid weekend," said Evans.

"It was a poor start and that put us out of the fight for the win. I have had mixed feelings. Congrats to Seb, he has driven an exceptional weekend."

Irish Drivers' Performances and Challenges

Josh McErlean finished eighth in the Spanish round of the championship, while Motorsport Ireland and M-Sport Ford team-mate Jon Armstrong placed 11th.

Jon Armstrong and co-driver Shane Byrne encountered difficulties during the rally, hitting an Armco barrier on Friday and going off the road on Saturday.

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Jon Armstrong of Ireland leans on his damaged M-Sport Ford Puma during service at Rally Islas Canarias — Image caption, Jon Armstrong and co-driver Shane Byrne hit an Armco barrier on Friday and went off the road on Saturday

Armstrong described the rally as the most testing event of his debut season in WRC1, having lost over two minutes on Saturday when spectators assisted in getting his car back on the road.

"It has been quite a challenging weekend there is no doubt about that," said the 31-year-old Fermanagh driver.

"It has taken a long time to get on top of a tyre on this rally. I think we have been progressing and we need to understand how we can improve.

"It has not been a great rally, but sometimes you will have worse ones than good ones."

Event Highlights and Team Performances

Toyota had been on course to claim the top five positions, but Rally Monte Carlo winner Oliver Solberg crashed out on the penultimate stage.

Solberg, who won six of the weekend's 18 stages and had been second on the road just two seconds behind Ogier, was forced to retire his badly damaged Yaris, resulting in no points for round five.

This victory marked the first win of the season for the 42-year-old Frenchman Ogier, who had not participated in Rally Sweden—won by Evans—and the previous round in Croatia, where Katsuta secured his second consecutive victory following his success in Kenya.

The championship now moves to Portugal for round six, scheduled from 7-10 May.