Round Two of the European Rally Championship, Rally Islas Canarias, based in the holiday resort of Las Palmas, ran over two days to produce an astonishing 200km of competition over sixteen special stages on closed public roads.
This all-asphalt event was going to be fast, twisty and demanding. Co-driver, Ross Whittock, from Radstock, with usual Manchester-based Chris Ingram, seeded number two, was there to increase their chance to become the first British European Rally Champions for fifty years. Teamed up in the Toksport WRT-run Skoda Fabia R5, the car ran faultless, but lack of pre-event testing meant it was going to be a struggle from the start, with an entry full of the best rally drivers in Europe.
Friday consisted of eight special stages, of which two were designed for the spectators in the town of Las Palmas, who came in their thousands to watch the spectacle of this event. A loop of three stages before any re-fuelling or service on the car meant Ross and Chris were finding it difficult to stay on the pace of three-times winner, Alexey Lukyanuk of Russia, in the Citroen C3 R5. They lost some 24 seconds and held fifth place.
A further loop of three more stages saw them move up to third overall, pulling away from both current German Rally Champion, Griebel, and Polish-based Habaj – previous winner of the Polish Championship. At the overnight halt, Lukyanuk held the lead from Spanish Champion, Lopez, with Ross and Chris holding the honours in third place.
Day Two was a further eight long stages to battle. In the first four stages, Lukyanuk touched a wall and broke a front wheel, which eventually resulted in retirement. Lopez took over the lead and Ross and Chris moved up into second place. With four stages left, Griebel made a mistake to let Habaj through into third place, but Ross and Chris drove the rally of their life to hold onto second place overall and second in the under-28 trophy.
David Whittock