Katsuta takes early lead at Rally Islas Canarias

Takamoto Katsuta claimed the top spot in the opening stage of Rally Islas Canarias, navigating the 1.89km course at the Gran Canaria Stadium in 1min 54.2sec. Driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, Katsuta finished 0.4sec ahead of Sami Pajari, who had established the initial benchmark time during the stadium test.

The technical stage, which featured a donut section and tight corners, provided a challenging start for the competitors. Roberto Daprà secured third place in his Škoda Fabia, followed by local favorite Dani Sordo, who returned to Rally1 machinery to take fourth. Joshua McErlean rounded out the top five, while Adrien Fourmaux and Sébastien Ogier tied for sixth.

Further down the leaderboard, Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans finished with identical times, placing them 1.9sec off the pace in eighth and ninth. Oliver Solberg completed the top ten as the field prepares to shift to the more traditional mountain roads on Friday.