ELFYN Evans is keeping a cool head on Rally Islas Canarias after TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team-mate Takamoto Katsuta claimed the early advantage with a spectacular win on the opening stadium super special stage.

The rally got under way with a dramatic new test around the football pitch at Gran Canaria Stadium, where drivers completed three laps of a tight and technical course laid out beside the service park. In front of a large and enthusiastic crowd, Katsuta set the benchmark, finishing 0.4 seconds clear of fellow Toyota driver Sami Pajari.

Evans, competing in a closely bunched field, finished tied for eighth, less than two seconds off the overnight lead, with Sébastien Ogier tied for sixth and Oliver Solberg rounding out Toyota’s presence in the top 10. All five GR YARIS Rally1 crews remain firmly in contention heading into the gravel and asphalt stages to come.

Earlier in the day, Solberg had underlined Toyota’s pace by topping the times in shakedown on the island’s mountain roads, which are considered more representative of the stages that will make up the bulk of the rally.

Reflecting on the opening test, Evans was content to prioritise a clean run rather than chase outright time.

“It’s nice to get the rally started with this super special stage,” he said. “It wasn’t brilliant for us, but there wasn’t a lot of room for error, so I was trying not to do anything silly.

“The feeling was all OK in shakedown and, like always, we’ll be aiming for the best result possible. I’m sure there will be fine margins like usual on this type of rally, but hopefully we can have an interesting fight.”

With more demanding stages still to come, Evans will be looking to build speed and consistency as the Rally Islas Canarias begins in earnest.

What's next?

A loop of three stages is run twice to form the majority of Friday’s route, with mid-day service in between. While most of the roads used are familiar from last year’s event, some new sections have been added and the Mogán - La Aldea stage is run in the reverse direction. Another pass of the stadium super special rounds out the day, which totals 108.79 competitive kilometres.