Alexandre Coria's take: "A Canary Islands Rally very much like a circuit race"

The reconnaissance runs for the fifth round of the World Rally Championship, the Rally The Canary Islands races have just ended for all the crews involved this Wednesday, April 22nd. As every weekend of WRCAlexandre Coria, co-pilot ofAdrien fourmaux, gives us a first overview of what to expect for this atypical event which will open this Thursday, April 23, with a Shakedown in Santa Brígida at 11:01 local time, 12:01 French time. "With the tarmac now smooth and sealed, the rally will be very much like a circuit race.", he confirmed to us this Wednesday, without any major surprises based on what the rally was like last year. "However, between the expected weather conditions and crossing certain mountains, at the summits of which we sometimes encountered fog during reconnaissance, we can say that there won't always be grip."However, he added a caveat.

Friday, a crescendo of pace on the Canary Islands Rally

In recent days, Friday's stage route has been disrupted by the severe weather that hit the island. Organizers have therefore had to hastily revise their plans, and the program for this first full day of competition, following Thursday evening's Super Special at the Las Palmas stadium, will be packed. "The first special stage is already known; it will be a good warm-up with an extra kilometer compared to last year. The second special stage is, again, nothing new: it was on this stage last year that Sami Pajari made a mistake."As we recently reminded you, this special stage was originally intended to conclude Friday's loops. Similarly, the following special stage was initially planned to be run in the opposite direction. "In this format, it will be very demanding on the brakes and tires.", Alexandre Coria tells us, with in particular the last 9 kilometers in a dry descent including almost 700 meters of negative elevation.

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A difficult end to the rally is expected in the Canary Islands?

But according to the co-driver from Montpellier, it is rather on Saturday and Sunday that the rally could take a different turn. “For me, the final special stage on Saturday, Moya – Gáldar, 28,90 kilometers long, as well as Ingenio – Telde – Valsequillo, the first special stage on Sunday, 25,93 kilometers long, will be the deciding factors.”he affirms. He also specifies that "Gaps could occur in these two special stages"Also worth noting is that among Saturday's special stages, last year's Power Stage, Maspalomas, will be on the program to open the day, complemented by Arucas – Firgas – Terror, 13,75 kilometers run in exactly the same way in 2025. Among the changes, a new Power Stage will therefore replace Maspalomas on Sunday, Santa Lucía – Agüimes (13,25 kilometers), which was used in part and in the opposite direction last year.

A Canary Islands Rally as crazy as the one in Croatia?

"Nothing will be over until we cross the finish line of this rally, especially because of this final day.", says Alexandre Coria. "The Power Stage will be truly magnificent and perhaps more like a sprint, but the main event of the day will definitely be the first special stage: there again, the tires and brakes will be extremely stressed, with 10 kilometers of descent and 800 meters of negative elevation change, as well as a very narrow and demanding end to the special stage."Last year, the Canary Islands Rally was a one-sided affair in the top category, with a complete domination by the Toyota and a stable Hyundai in difficulty. But as we've seen in the last two events, this season has started with a bang, and surprises are always possible. That's now the norm in the WRC: it's crucial to wait before making predictions…

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