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ERC event preview: Rally Islas Canarias

It’s Tarmac next in the battle for 2019 FIA European Rally Championship glory as Rally Islas Canarias hosts the all-action ERC from 2-4 May.

Essentials
What: FIA European Rally Championship round 2 of 8*
When: 2-4 May 2019
Where: Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
Stages: 16
Distance: 200.98 kilometres
Surface: Asphalt
ERC appearances (since 2004 restructuring): 4 (2013, 2016-2018)

*Also counting for: FIA ERC1 Junior Championship, FIA ERC3 Junior Championship, ERC2, ERC3, FIA European Rally Championship for Teams, ERC Nations’ Cup, ERC Ladies’ Trophy, Abarth Rally Cup

Recent winners:
2018: Alexey Lukyanuk/Alexey Arnautov (Ford Fiesta R5)
2017: Alexey Lukyanuk/Alexey Arnautov (Ford Fiesta R5)
2016: Alexey Lukyanuk/Alexey Arnautov (Ford Fiesta R5)
2015: Miguel Fuster/Ignacio Aviñó (Porsche 997 GT3 RS)*
2014: Didier Auriol/Denis Giraudet (Citroën Xsara WRC)*
*Non-ERC event

Overview
It’s Tarmac next in the battle for 2019 FIA European Rally Championship glory as Rally Islas Canarias hosts the all-action ERC from 2-4 May. Łukasz Habaj tops the standings following his breakthrough victory on last month’s Azores Rallye where the Pole delivered the drive of his life to beat local hero Ricardo Moura and ERC1 Junior winner Chris Ingram. Alexey Lukyanuk, the defending ERC champion, had been leading but then punctured before crashing heavily on the final stage due to brake pipe damage caused by the flailing tyre. But with his wrecked Citroën C3 R5 fully repaired, the Russian is back in action and back to chase a fourth consecutive Rally Islas Canarias victory against strong opposition from established stars, national champions, category stalwarts – plus young prospects aiming to prove their talent in ERC1 Junior. Efrén Llarena will fly the flag for Rally Team Spain in the Pirelli-supported ERC3 Junior category. Juan Carlos Alonso is the earlier ERC2 pacesetter, Renault-powered Florian Bernardi makes his first start of 2019, while the Abarth Rally Cup contingent will begin their title quest – and their pursuit of a lucrative prize fund that could be worth as much as 102,000 euros to the winner.

Rally Islas Canarias in 100 words
With the stages climbing and descending at a frequent rate, drivers pay close attention to corner speed and lines to ensure optimal momentum is maintained, while precise car set-up and pacenote accuracy are vital. One of the notable features of the sealed stages is the abrasive surface, constructed partly from volcanic lava. It means grip levels are high and remain constant if it rains, although tyre wear can increase. However, with the opportunity to take ‘cuts’ through corners limited, the roads remain relatively debris-free. Returning to the ERC schedule in 2016, it’s a rally big on challenge and spectator numbers.

What’s new for 2019?
The Valleseco stage on leg two and the Valesquillo Free Practice and Qualifying Stage are new, while San Mateo and Gáldar get revised opening sections. As well as counting as round two of the Spanish Tarmac championship, Rally Islas Canarias is also a qualifying round of the new-for-2019 Spanish Supercampeonato from governing body RFEDA.

Changes to the ERC include the renaming of the ERC Junior categories: ERC Junior Under 28 becomes ERC1 Junior, ERC Junior U27 becomes ERC3 Junior with continued support from Pirelli. Meanwhile, R4-K and RGT cars are eligible for ERC2 points, the Abarth Rally Cup will be contested over six ERC rounds, while Rally Hungary joins the calendar for the first time as the deciding round in November.

Talking points
*A record-breaking 120-car entry includes some of the best drivers from the European and Spanish championships, plus a number of competitors from the Canary Islands. They include Emma Falcón, the ERC Ladies’ Trophy winner from 2018 who steps up to R5 power, and event stalwart Luis Mónzon.
*Among the top Spaniards in action are current leaders of the national asphalt series and Supercampeonato, Pepe López and Xevi Pons, a former world championship regular.
*Double ERC Junior champion and 2018 German title winner Marijan Griebel switches from Volkswagen Polo to ŠKODA Fabia power, while his Baumschlager Rallye & Racing team welcomes Albert von Thurn und Taxis back to ERC duty.
*Swede Lars Stugemo makes his ERC return in a Polo R5 GTI run by the Finnish Printsport team.
*Double ERC2 champion Tibor Érdi Jr begins his first ERC1 campaign in the Fabia R5 he used for the first time on last season’s Rally Liepāja, while fellow Hungarian Norbert Herczig will be hoping for better fortune in his MOL-backed Volkswagen Polo after a steering issue triggered his early exit in the Azores.
*Team OSCARO’s Pierre-Louis Loubet is another driver aiming to hit back from his Azores retirement, the Corsican having been in the podium fight at the time.
*Paulo Nobre’s Rally Islas Canarias appearance comes during a busy period for the Brazilian, who will be contesting the world championship rounds in Argentina and Chile either side of the island event.
*Niki Meyr-Melnhof is set for his first ERC outing of 2019 following an impressive showing on October’s Rally Liepāja.
*ERC2 is set for a close battle between Juan Carlos Alonso, Sergei Remennik and the returning Zelindo Melegari. They will take on the Abarth Rally Cup runners for class success.
*Florian Benardi begins his ERC3 title bid with Peugeot Rally Academy duo, Yohan Rossel and Catie Munnings, plus Sean Johnston from the United States among his opposition.
*The ERC Junior contingent stands at a mammoth 20 entries including newcomers Jean-Baptiste Franceschi, Grigor Grigorov and Petr Semerad. A separate preview will be issued on 29 April.
*Four teams from national associations or federations will contest the ERC Nations’ Cup, while the FIA European Rally Championship for Teams has strong support once again with 27 squads chasing points

Expert views
Łukasz Habaj (Poland) Sports Racing Technologies ŠKODA Fabia R5: “I have good and bad memories from Rally Islas Canarias. Winning ERC3 on my debut in 2016 was obviously a great achievement, but one year later was not so great when we finished on second corner of Free Practice 1 after completely crashing our Fiesta. In general I like the rally very much. The stages are absolutely great, lots of spectators, beautiful island and great atmosphere so I am really looking forward to it. It is not an easy rally though, the weather is changing a lot and very fast so sometimes it’s difficult to make a good tyre choice. We went to Rallye Sanremo to get the first experience with the ŠKODA on asphalt and surely it helped a lot. The roads are a little bit different there but I was able to test many things, also due to very difficult weather conditions we were forced to use different set-ups and different tyres. After one more test day, which is planned for Monday, we will be fully ready for a fight. It’s difficult to predict what we can achieve because last year I thought I had a good pace but the results were not satisfactory. We had quite a lot of technical problems but still on some stages I expected to be a little faster. I am very much focused on finding a good set-up and rhythm and I am certain that we can score some good points if we stay out of problems. This is first time we’ll stick Number 1 on the door and of course I like it a lot! The whole team is very determined to keep it this way for Rally Liepāja too because it’s the home event for Sports Racing Technologies!”

Chris Ingram (Great Britain) Toksport WRT ŠKODA Fabia R5: “I am very grateful to have the opportunity to continue our championship challenge despite the fact we are still searching for the investment and sponsorship required for our 2019 ERC title aims.  I haven’t driven a rally car on Tarmac for nine months so It will be critical for me to get some seat time and find a good set-up on the Monday test. I won the ERC Juniors in 2017 on my first visit to the Island so I know how I need to approach the stages, plus myself Ross Whittock, my co-driver, and the Toksport team are working very well together. But the main thing for me will be getting behind the wheel and getting a good feeling with the ŠKODA Fabia R5 again. We hope to build on our championship position in both the ERC overall standings and ERC1 Junior, which we lead.”

Efrén Llarena (Spain) Rally Team Spain Peugeot 208 R2: “Technically Rally Islas Canarias is not my home rally because I did it only last year for the first time. But we have some experience and we will try to do our best. We did the Azores, one of the most difficult rallies in Europe, without any big mistakes. We had a strategy to be fast but not at a crazy speed, to be clean. The strategy worked so we were very happy with our victory. It was also the first rally with our new car that we built so it felt amazing.”

Pepe López (Spain) Citroën Rally Team Spain Citroën C3 R5: “Of course I will try to fight for the Spanish title but as we are competing in the ERC we keep in mind to keep a strong position because it could be really interesting. The car is really competitive and I am really happy with the car and all the parts. It’s working well and I thank Citroën Racing. Last year was really tough because I had to wait a lot to be in the car. But I am proud to be again with a good programme and I will do my best with this opportunity. For all rallies I start with the objective of trying to win and it will be no different here.”

Alexey Lukyanuk (Russia) Saintéloc Junior Team Citroën C3 R5: “It was a big luck me and my co-driver were unhurt in the accident in Azores, not a scratch. But the car received a huge damage to the bodyshell, which needed replacing. Luckily there was no major damage to the powertrain or engine. Work like this takes time but the team know their job and the car looks like new now. I am really proud for my team. They did a good job and I hope they don’t hate me too much for what happened! The Azores was a huge disappointment of course but still it’s only the beginning of the season and there were a lot of positive things from the rally. I only drove 20 kilometres in the car on Tarmac but it was more like a short welcome from the team. I need to find the proper balance and set-up but we have seen the Citroën is performing quite well on Tarmac and I am confident we can achieve some good results. The key to this rally is to look after the tyres. If you do it right you have constant grip and can maintain proper pace through the long stages. If you push too hard you wear the tyres too fast.”

Head to head: Ingram v López
Two ERC Junior heavyweights will do battle on Rally Islas Canarias when Chris Ingram and Pepe López lock horns in R5 cars for the first time. Ingram (Toksport WRT ŠKODA) is the 2017 ERC3 Junior champion and last year’s ERC1 Junior runner-up, while López stepped up to ERC1 Junior for 2017 after winning the Peugeot 208 Rally Cup in France the previous year. The Spaniard is the leader of his national asphalt championship in a Citroën C3 R5 having competed for the Peugeot Rally Academy in the ERC.

Form guide: Łukasz Habaj
Łukasz Habaj defends his FIA European Rally Championship lead on Rally Islas Canarias armed with useful data gathered from a test run on Rallye Sanremo in Italy earlier this month, an outing he said left him feeling “smart”. This will be the Pole’s fourth start on Gran Canaria although he failed to get beyond Free Practice in 2017 due to a car-wrecking crash.

How to follow?
On TV and online: Live coverage of selected stages on FIAERC.com and Facebook. Daily highlights on Eurosport and YouTube. Regular videos and news updates at FIAERC.com
ERC Radio: Live from the end of all stages and selected service park visits. Available at FIAERC.com or download the official ERC App
Social media: Follow the ERC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Don’t miss! Abarth Rally Cup
The Abarth Rally Cup, which begins on Rally Islas Canarias, runs in conjunction with the FIA European Rally Championship in 2019, bringing together the hugely exciting one-make series and the leading regional competition promoted by Eurosport Events under a long-term agreement with motorsport’s world governing body. Contested over six rounds of the eight-event ERC, the Abarth Rally Cup is open to competitors using the enhanced-for-2019 Abarth 124 rally, the lightweight, rear-wheel-drive Italian sportscar, which conforms to the FIA’s R-GT category technical regulations. And following the FIA World Motor Sport Council’s decision on 5 December to allow R-GT cars to take part in the revitalised ERC2 category, Abarth Rally Cup drivers are eligible for points in the popular showroom class, while also chasing an attractive round-by-round and end-of-season prize fund. On each round the following prize fund is offered: First position: €12,000; Second position: €10,000; Third position: €8,000; Fourth position: €4,000 plus four Pirelli tyres. At the end of the season the Abarth Rally Cup winner receives a final prize of €30,000. Dariusz Poloński, Alberto Monarri, Andrea Nucita and Carlos David García Pérez are the first drivers to sign up for action.

Five facts:
1: Rally Islas Canarias boasts a number of prominent former winners including Didier Auriol, Piero Liatti and Carlos Sainz, who claimed five consecutive victories in the 1980s
2: The Canary Islands is known for its good weather with the ambient temperature ranging from 17-24 degrees centigrade
3: Rally Islas Canarias joined the ERC for the first time in 1982 and has counted for Europe’s premier rally championship 24 times
4: Islas Canarias comes from the Latin Insula Canaria, or Island of the Dogs, which were believed to be a type of monk seal
5: A dish of choice in the Canary Islands is ropa vieja, made from chicken, beef, potatoes and beans

Zdroj: fiaerc.com