Kalle Rovanperä, the two-time World Rally Champion, is ready to turn his sluggish start to the season around at the WRC Canary Islands, which kicks off in Gran Canaria on April 24, 2025. Thursday’s shakedown phase promised better things to come, as the Finn set the fastest time on the 6.26-kilometer Santa Brígida test stage, beating teammate Takamoto Katsuta by 2.5 seconds. Rovanperä’s drive looked effortless and relaxed, but behind the scenes, the tuning phase had brought unexpected challenges that could have jeopardized his performance. In an interview with DirtFish, Rovanperä revealed how the traffic caused by tourists and slow cars disrupted his preparations.

The Canary Islands Rally is the fourth round of the 2025 season and the only pure asphalt race, which places special demands on the drivers. Precise driving lines, corner distances and tire control are key, as there are hardly any cuts and no dirt accumulates on the road. Rovanperä, who has struggled with the new Hankook tires, was excited to return to asphalt for the first time since the 2023 Rally Japan. “For once, it felt like the car was working well on asphalt with these tires,” he told MTV News. His time of 4:10.0 was 0.64 seconds per kilometer faster than the next one, showing that he had adapted to the technical challenge.

The scoring, which is especially critical on tarmac, proved tricky. “Normally there’s not that much traffic here, but now there’s a lot of tourists and people moving around the special stages,” Rovanperä told DirtFish. He described how the slow cars and oncoming traffic made the process difficult. “On tarmac you have to see the lane and be careful with the distances to the corners. If there’s someone in front or a car coming towards you, it makes scoring really difficult.” Getting stuck behind a slow car was particularly frustrating, making it difficult to get accurate scores. All the drivers, including Hyundai drivers Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville, reported similar problems, but Rovanperä stressed that his team eventually got the scores right.

Rovanperä has had a challenging start to the season. He finished fifth in the Monte Carlo Rally, unable to match the pace of the top drivers. He finished seventh in Sweden, and a mechanical failure in Kenya interrupted his race. He is 57 points behind teammate Elfyn Evans, who leads the championship. The Canary Islands offer a chance to turn the season around, especially since Rovanperä has previously excelled on asphalt. His shakedown lap, which was four seconds faster than the next best, excited fans. On X, user @Ralliradio wrote: “Kalle is back, let’s go!” Another fan,  @JuhoKokko _, noted that “tire wear management and note data are key.”

The race began on Friday with six special stages, totaling 118.84 kilometers, and continues until Sunday. Rovanperä’s strength is his ability to adapt to technical asphalt roads, where “the details have to be precise,” as he himself put it. Unlike gravel rallies, where the slip allows for small mistakes, asphalt requires perfect precision in the corners and braking points. Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala praised Rovanperä’s preparation: “Kalle has found confidence in the car, and it shows in his driving.” Teammate Sami Pajari also impressed in shakedown, finishing in the top ten, confirming Toyota’s strong start.

Rovanperä’s challenge is to keep a cool head and use the flow of the shakedown even during the actual special stages. Although the problems with the notes slowed down the preparation, his team’s ability to adapt shows professionalism. The winding mountain roads of the Canary Islands and the hard asphalt tires of Hankook will test the drivers’ nerves, but Rovanperä’s relaxed appearance after the shakedown suggests that he is ready to fight for the top positions. Fans will be waiting to see if he can repeat the performance of the 2022 Rally Croatia, when he emerged victorious from difficult conditions. The race will be broadcast live on MTV Max and MTV Katsomo, and Finns will be keeping their fingers crossed that Rovanperä brings home the long-awaited podium finish.