Sebastien Ogier is still the man to beat at Rally Islas Canarias, but a punishing Day 2 of tarmac running has tightened the field around him to the point that the eight-time world champion's part-time Toyota campaign is now hanging on tyre management and small balance windows.
The Frenchman survived a frustrating morning that was disrupted when SS3 was cancelled the previous day over illegal parking, leaving crews with a shorter Saturday loop than expected. Ogier admitted his rhythm never fully clicked and that Toyota's locked centre differential has made rotating the GR Yaris a constant fight on the Canaries' polished asphalt.
"My rhythm was not perfect, let's say. I was a bit frustrated at the end with how it went," Ogier said in Saturday service. "We're always going to be challenged here, you know, we have a locked centre differential on a four-wheel-drive car and obviously you need something very free to rotate the car."
Despite the complaint the Frenchman is still on top of the leaderboard. He returned for the afternoon loop with small set-up changes and reported a marginally improved feeling, although he warned the gaps to those behind remained deceptively small.
His closest pursuer is championship leader Takamoto Katsuta, who has used Saturday to convert his pre-event work with Kalle Rovanpera into a genuine fight at the front. The Japanese driver acknowledged the gulf in tarmac experience between him and Ogier but said the speed was finally arriving in matched tenths.
"It hasn't been easy, but I did some changes in service and felt more comfortable in the car," Katsuta said. "Trading some tenths with Seb, and he is the best of the best on tarmac, so it is pretty cool to at least know the speed is there. I am happy to be in the position I am."
The stages were demanding for tyres throughout the day, with crews reporting they hit the working limit of the spec rubber early in each loop. "It's very demanding for the tyres and you reach the limit of it very quickly," one driver noted. "Therefore the car has to be really perfect to manage them somehow. We all have the same tyres, that's the good news, and let's try to continue to make the best of it."
Not every crew enjoyed the tarmac challenge. Several drivers reported running into terminal understeer on the final stage of the loop, forcing service-park revisions for the afternoon repeat.
Weather added another layer earlier in the day, with rain and sun trading shifts across Saturday morning and contributing to a high-profile crash that briefly stopped one of the sequence runs. By the evening service, several Hyundai and Ford crews were openly conceding their day had unravelled, with one driver describing it as "quite difficult, struggling all the time, not easy for the moment."
With the rally now heading into its decisive Sunday loop, Ogier holds the points but the Toyota Gazoo Racing pit wall knows the slimmest of margins separates the part-time veteran from a Katsuta whose championship lead is built on consistency. The closing stages around Las Palmas will favour whichever crew can both look after their tyres and find a window of clean asphalt as the rally rolls towards the powerstage.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/ogier-canary-islands-lead-wrc-day-2-tyres-katsuta-2026). Visit for full coverage.*
