The nine-time world champion won four of Friday’s five full-length asphalt stages to build an 8.9sec lead over team-mate Oliver Solberg, with Sami Pajari completing the overnight podium a further 7.0sec back.
Elfyn Evans ended the day fourth, just 0.5sec behind Pajari, while championship leader Takamoto Katsuta completed the top five in another dominant showing for Toyota’s GR Yaris Rally1 cars on the high-grip roads of Gran Canaria.
Ogier, who returned this weekend after skipping Croatia Rally, moved into the lead on Friday’s opening Valleseco - Artenara test and never looked back. He was fastest again on both passes of Mogán - La Aldea, as well as the afternoon run through Tejeda - San Mateo, before the day ended with a short super special inside Gran Canaria Stadium.
“It has been a good day,” said Ogier after SS8. “I am starting to enjoy this a lot now.”
Solberg was the only driver to beat Ogier on one of the full-length stages, edging the Frenchman by 0.1sec on the repeat of Valleseco - Artenara. The 24-year-old admitted the afternoon had not been straightforward, but his pace was enough to climb from fourth at midday to second by the end of the day.
Pajari also moved up the order late in the day, matching Katsuta’s fastest time on the final stadium stage to edge ahead of Evans into third overall. The Finn had admitted earlier in the afternoon that set-up changes had not delivered the improvement he wanted, but remained firmly in the podium fight.
Evans, meanwhile, was left searching for more after a day in which he showed flashes of pace but could not consistently match Ogier and Solberg.
“I’m not super happy as we wanted more from the day and Oliver and Seb have been faster,” said Evans. “We need to find some improvements.”
Katsuta, who led overnight after Thursday’s opener, struggled for front-end confidence during the afternoon and slipped to 29.7sec off the lead, though he ended the day on a positive note by sharing the fastest time on SS8.
“At least something positive from the day,” he said. “I really struggled today.”
Hyundai Motorsport endured a more difficult Friday, with Dani Sordo the best of its i20 N Rally1 runners in sixth overall on his first WRC appearance of the season. The Spaniard ended the day 52.0sec from the lead, 2.8sec ahead of Adrien Fourmaux, with Thierry Neuville eighth after struggling to trust the front of his car through the island’s long, committed corners.
M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean held ninth overnight after a steady day in his Puma Rally1, while team-mate Jon Armstrong dropped to 11th after an eventful Friday that included a trip down an escape road on SS4, wheel rim damage on SS7 and a transmission issue on the final stadium stage.
“It has not been our day,” Armstrong said. “On the tyre warm-up on the way to the stage we broke something and we had to do it with front-wheel drive only. We just had to get around.”
In WRC2, Yohan Rossel completed the overall top 10 and led the category after a strong day aboard his Lancia Ypsilon HF Rally2. The Frenchman ended Friday 22.0sec clear of Alejandro Cachón, with younger brother Léo Rossel third in class.
“It was a great day for the team to have this feeling in the car,” said Yohan Rossel. “It was incredible.”
End of day two (Friday):
1 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 54m27.5s
2 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +8.9s
3 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +15.9s
4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +16.4s
5 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +29.7s
6 Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +52.0s
7 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +54.8s
8 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m03.6s
9 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m41.1s
10 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale) +1m59.5s ...
(Results as of 21:05 on Friday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
What's next?
Saturday is the longest day of the rally featuring 112.22 competitive kilometres to be driven across two loops of three stages. The Maspalomas stage takes crews to the south of the island ahead of two more tests in the north including Moya – Gáldar: the longest of the weekend at 28.9 km.
