WRC leader Takamoto Katsuta is also the early leader of Rally Islas Canarias
World Rally Championship leader Takamoto Katsuta is the early leader of Rally Islas Canarias, setting the best time on Thursday evening’s superspecial stage.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has evolved for 2026, with the test now moving exclusively inside the Gran Canaria Stadium instead of driving in, and around, the basketball court.
Katsuta set the pace with a time of 1m54.2s, 0.4s ahead of Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari with WRC2 leader Roberto Daprà slotting his Škoda into an early third overall.
The rest of the top-10 was filled by Rally1 cars. The returning Dani Sordo is fourth ahead of M-Sport’s Josh McErlean, with Adrien Fourmaux and Sébastien Ogier sharing sixth overall (+1.4s).
Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans meanwhile share eighth (+1.9s) with Oliver Solberg a further tenth back in 10th. Jon Armstrong however dropped 3.8s to the fastest time.
Katsuta echoed the drivers’ sentiments: “Lot of people, I really appreciate so much the people coming to see our sport,” he said. “The show is very important for our sport so it was nice to see a lot of people here.”
Words:Luke Barry
Tags: Rally Islas Canarias, Rally Islas Canarias 2026, WRC, WRC 2026
Publish Date April 23, 2026 DirtFish
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2026/04/Katsuta05RIC26cm133-780x1170.jpg April 23, 2026
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