Elfyn extends championship lead with Gran Canaria podium

Confident drive in Rally Islas Canarias strengthens WRC position.

A third-place finish on the all-new Rally Islas Canarias help Elfyn extend his lead at the top of the FIA World Rally Championship after a solid weekend of high-speed racing on the smooth, asphalt mountain roads.

His seventh consecutive podium finish helped the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team secure another podium lock-out, finished 1-2-3-4 on the island event.

The clean, wide stages meant it was a high-speed race all weekend with very few cuts and gravel allowing to competitors could push flat-out all weekend. 

Elfyn started well and held third place behind team-mates Kalle Rovanpera and Seb Ogier as the Toyota trio dominated the top of the time sheets.

As it was a new event, Elfyn made a number of small tweaks during the weekend to try and find a little extra performance on the new stages and with the new Hankook tyres. 

First pass was more about checking pacenotes while the afternoon loop allowed him and co-driver Scott Martin to push harder and find improvements to maximise pace and performance on the circuit-like stages. 

Rovanpera extended his lead during the weekend with a string of stage wins to seal the rally win, while Elfyn delivered a solid drive to hold third place until the finish on Sunday afternoon. With his close championship rivals experiencing a tough event, the podium result saw Elfyn extend his championship lead from 36 to 43 points.

The championship moves to gravel now with Rally Portugal on 15-18 May, the first of seven consecutive loose surface events.