Hänninen suprised by his Gran Canaria pace

Juho Hänninen says he is “quite surprised” by his pace on Rally Islas Canarias.

The Finn is 3.7 seconds behind leader Kris Meeke after the opening loop of stages, despite admitting to a dislike of driving on asphalt.

“It was difficult to get the rhythm at first because the temperature in the mountains is not so warm so we had a bit of understeer,” said the factory Škoda Fabia driver. “But at least the tyre wear was quite good.”

Hänninen believes he can maintain his place in the top three even though he is suffering from a cold.

“My ears are blocking so I joked to my team-mate Mikko Markkula that we need to turn up the volume on the intercom,” he said.

Like all of his rivals, Hänninen is using the hardest compound BFGoodrich tyre and carrying one spare wheel in his car. He plans to stick with the same selection on the next loop of three stages, the first of which gets underway at 12:55 hrs local time.