Review of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship at Rally Islas Canarias

Rallying’s always been a bit of a mystery to me, you know? Like, how do these folks just zoom around bends at breakneck speeds without spinning off into oblivion? So, I’m scouring the results from Rally Islas Canarias, and guess who’s on top? Yep, Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen. First win since the last jaunt in Chile — a whopping 15 stage wins. That’s bonkers. It’s like they’ve got some magical rally dust or something.

Toyota, folks. They absolutely crushed it. Imagine a power trip — they grabbed the top four spots! Rovanperä, Sébastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans, and Takamoto Katsuta were virtually untouchable. Meanwhile, Hyundai seemed to be having a rough day. Their prep for the rally kinda flopped. I mean, their choices didn’t vibe well with the Canarian roads. Smooth tarmac totally threw them off.

Hyundai’s Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville weren’t having their best day either. Neuville even got a flat right before the end. Ouch.

Let’s not forget M-Sport’s little drama. Grégoire Munster nearly played tag with a tree. Lucky for him, it was just a close call. But messing around with understeer and ending in a ditch? Yeah, not their best moment. At least they learned something useful, right?

The FIA guys, especially Nicholas Klinger, had their hands full. Crowds in Spain love their rallies — passion, noise, chaos — you get it. But somehow, the event went by without major hiccups. Hats off to those folks managing thousands of rally-crazed fans.

And a quick nod to Yohan Rossel, snagging WRC2 victory while juggling a local pressure cooker fight.

Anyway, Toyota killed it, literally painting the leaderboard with their colors. Juha Kankkunen was grinning ear to ear. He even joked Kalle hadn’t been struggling, just waiting to flick his magic switch.

Hyundai will be back to the drawing board, dissecting every turn and twist. François-Xavier Demaison was practically taking notes during the whole ride. They gathered data, and well, sometimes that’s all you walk away with. As they say, it’s a long season — everyone’s got plenty to prove.

That’s the gist really. A chaotic, tire-screeching weekend vibe no AI can spit out. Feels real, feels flawed, feels real flawed. Catch you at the next dust-off!