A few days before the Canary Islands Rally, the archipelago hit by violent floods

Major motorsport events have unfortunately been synonymous with natural disasters in recent months in Spain. After the terrible floods that hit the Valencia region before the final round of the World Motorsport Championship, MotoGP Last November, the Jerez circuit also took on water at the beginning of March, two months before hosting Bagnaia, Márquez, Quarterly and others for the Spanish GP (April 25-27).

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As fate would have it, it was the Canary Islands on which the sky fell, just a few days before the Rally of the Canaries, fourth round of the season WRC expected next week (April 24-27). Storm Olivier swept across the archipelago and caused significant damage.

Torrents of mud flowed through the streets of several towns, mostly on the islands of Lanzarote and Tenerife. "We worked all night, responding to more than 300 calls during the night, the majority of which were in Arrecife and Teguise. Houses are flooded and sometimes there is nothing left but mud.", explains Enrique Espinosa, head of the emergency services of the Lanzarote government to the television channel RTVE.

According to a report released Monday by the Lanzarote Island Council, at least 222 incidents were recorded over the weekend. The state announced the implementation of financial aid to support residents of Arrecife and Teguise, the two hardest-hit municipalities.

⚠️⚠️ Lanzarote, emerging from the lush rains. The municipalities most affected by Arrecife and Teguise #Time #Canary Islandshttps://t.co/0uHmedTqqq pic.twitter.com/cHJzjrVGrL

— Canary Islands Now (@Cahora) April 12, 2025

While the disaster areas are slowly recovering, there is currently no question of canceling the Rally of the Canaries, held on the island of Gran Canaria, which was not affected by the floods. After three rounds, Elfyn Evans (Toyota) comfortably leads the championship with a 36-point lead over Thierry Neuville (Hyundai). The Welshman won the last two rounds in Sweden and Kenya, while the Monte Carlo, the traditional opening rally of the season, had been dominated by Sébastien OgierThe Frenchman will be competing in his second race of the year in the Canary Islands, where he will join the four Toyotas of the usual starters: Elfyn Evans, Kalle Rovanperä, Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari.

In total, 10 Rally1s will be at the start of the fourth round of the season, with the three Hyundais ofOtt Tänak, Thierry Neuville and Adrien fourmaux, and the two Fords M-Sport by Grégoire Munster and Josh McErlean.

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