For the very first time, the Rally Islas Canarias was held this year as part of the FIA World Rally Championship. For Škoda crews competing in the WRC2 category, it was not only a new challenge but also a very demanding event. Many crews chose the Canary Islands rally as their first points-scoring event of the season.
No room for mistakes – that’s the best way to describe this new addition to this year’s WRC calendar. Narrow, winding asphalt roads, bordered by rocks and guardrails, awaited the teams. Two Škoda crews took on the challenge: the duo of Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov, and the pair of Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen.
The 2022 WRC2 world champion returned to the cockpit of a Škoda rally car exactly two years and two days after his last appearance. It was clear that the former champion would need some time to reacquaint himself with the car during the rally.
Despite the two-year break, he and his co-driver quickly found their rhythm and held fourth place in the WRC2 category. However, a puncture midway through the second leg cost them dearly. The resulting loss of about one minute and fifteen seconds proved decisive in the highly competitive field. Nevertheless, the Finnish crew managed to finish a respectable sixth in the WRC2 category standings.
The Gryazin/Aleksandrov pairing performed even better. From the start, they maintained a strong pace and quickly secured third place in the WRC2 category, holding it consistently from the fourth special stage all the way to the rally's finish. Their efforts were rewarded with a podium celebration. "However, I was never able to put real pressure on Yohan Rossel or Alejandro Cachón," Gryazin admitted.
Third place in the WRC2 category earned Gryazin 15 valuable points towards the overall championship standings. Meanwhile, Italian duo Roberto Daprà and Luca Guglielmetti of the Delta Rally Team secured seventh place in the WRC2 category.
Škoda crews also enjoyed success in the WRC Masters Cup, a category for drivers over fifty years of age. Spanish duo Antonio Forné and Axel Coronado from the Escudería Costa Brava team claimed victory, while the Japanese team of Osamu Fukunaga and Misako Saida secured a strong third-place finish.
