Has the Canary Islands Rally successfully completed its WRC debut?

The first impression was not fantastic. It was disappointing to realize that you had to have your nose to the place where the rally to find out that there was an event organized. The posters at the airport advertised golf courses, quad excursions or restaurant addresses… There was absolutely nothing about the WRCThis did not prevent the departure ceremony from taking place in front of a large crowd and in a warm atmosphere.

Sporting his local football club jersey, Jos McErlean (MSport) won the applause contest. The site chosen for the service park was ideal, as there was no shortage of space. The Gran Canaria stadium in Las Palmas was suitable, providing enough space for the teams while still allowing the public to enjoy the show. Access for the Rally1 teams was undoubtedly too limited, but overall, fans were able to observe the mechanics at work, and the arena welcomed many families and people who were not necessarily rally enthusiasts. The organizers had the good idea of ​​including a concert stage and friendly places to spend a pleasant time. Despite the difficulty of parking nearby, the installation of the park in the city center was a success.

First registered in ERC In 1982, the popularity of this event never waned. Receiving increasingly higher coefficients from the FIA ​​each year, the Canary Islands ended up being one of the unmissable events of this discipline. On the edges of the special stages, the spectators also responded and there were concerns about their behavior. However, there were no problems. The work of the organizers must be congratulated, explained Nicolas Klinger, head of security at the FIAThe message was well received, enough zones were created and the involvement of the commissioners was excellent."

A different show

There have always been tarmac rounds on the calendar, but since the disappearance of Catalunya in 2022, the rallies scheduled on this surface (Monte-Carlo, Croatia, Central Europe, Ypres) have all offered stages with a lot of pollution. This was not at all the case in the Canaries. On the island, the roads resemble ribbons that wind between the coasts and the heights. They follow the roughness of the terrain and have very few abutments, which allows them to remain very clean. One of the parameters that the crews will have to consider next year is the difficulty of carrying out reconnaissance on very congested tourist routes.

On this course, which is almost like a circuit, the competitors had to relearn how to work on their lines while focusing on the functioning of the tires. In Rally1, there are only Toyota who managed it. The memories left by the previous rounds on such terrain made one fear a boring rally and it is regrettable to say that this is exactly what happened for this 49^e edition. The Toyota train escaped while that of Hyundai remained in the station. The race was divided into a few special stages. To tackle this type of road, the cars adopt a configuration that undoubtedly makes them even more beautiful than usual. Their efficiency is now so great that there is almost no more spectacle. The Canaries, however, did not miss their promotion to the next level, and in the second year of the contract, in 2026, it will be a pleasure to return to a playing field surrounded by superb landscapes. It may be the occasion to see the original special stage crossing a basketball arena again.

The WRC in full dunk

Looking for new ways to make their event more popular and generate buzz, organizers sometimes introduce some pretty crazy solutions. Special stages have been set up in stadiums, at the port of Monaco, in city centers (Leon, Limassol, Strasbourg, etc.), or more recently around a gas station and on a section of highway during the Acropolis 2024. In the Canary Islands, for the past two years, the route has made a stop in the middle of the immense basketball arena installed on the heights of Las Palmas. It's absolutely not for purists, as the spectators present hope to see driving errors. As some drivers have indicated, it's almost like a gymkhana.

© M-Sport

Seeing Rally1 cars costing over a million euros dragging themselves across a floor with no grip could have been painful to watch for those who hate the concept of making a racing car go around in circles while still calling it "rallying." As surprising and noisy (in an enclosed environment) as it was, this spectacle helped attract an uninitiated audience. While the Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and Barcelona was taking place, the area around the special stage was packed. Inside the arena, too, the stands were almost full, and in terms of promotion, the promoter was pleased with this attempt in the WRC. However, is this a path that should be regularly followed in the World Championship? This discipline certainly suffers from a lack of communication, but should this extreme example become the norm? Whoever the next promoter is, we'll have to see what ideas they have for making the WRC more popular.

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