– The organizers of the Canary Islands Rally, which will be held from 23. to 26. April as the fifth round of the World Rally Championship (WRC), had to reschedule at short notice to ensure the sequence of the special stages on Friday. The reason for the adjustments is the impact of Storm Therese.
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After the Spanish archipelago was affected by severe storms last month, those responsible were forced to partially change the route. Storm Therese caused flooding, power outages, and landslides on Gran Canaria with heavy winds and torrential rain.
While the majority of the planned asphalt route remains unchanged, the necessary corrections focus primarily on the stages on Friday.
“The damage caused in numerous areas of Gran Canaria by the recent storm forced the organizing committee to react quickly to revise the originally planned route for the Friday stage,” the organizers said in an official statement.
“Thanks to the cooperation with the Island Council of Gran Canaria and all municipalities, the first full day of the 50. Canary Islands Rally will continue to include a loop of three special stages, although it features some changes,” it continues.
The changes in detail
The second special stage (Valleseco – Artenara 1) will be shortened by two kilometers. The start will now take place further back on the original route, so that the stage has a total length of 13,13 kilometers.
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In addition, the order within the loop has been swapped. The Tejeda – San Mateo stage (20,69 km), which was originally supposed to be the conclusion, moves up to third place on the start list. The conclusion of the loop is now the Mogan – La Aldea test (21,80 km), which will also be driven in the opposite direction to the original plan.
The stages for Saturday and Sunday remain unaffected by these changes and correspond to the schedule published in February.
Stadium spectacle instead of traditional course
Even before the storm, the organizers had announced a significant change in the schedule. Originally, the rally was supposed to start at the famous Circuito Islas Canarias, which was the venue for the Race of Champions between 1992 and 2003.
However, this stage was replaced by a new spectator stage in the Gran Canaria Stadium in Las Palmas. The layout inside the 30.000-capacity stadium allows for direct duels between the drivers. The stage named “Las Palmas de Gran Canaria” will be driven once on each of the first two days. The first run on Thursday at 18:05 will be the only timed test of the day, while the second run will conclude the Friday stage at 19:45.
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