The WRC last visited Spain in 2022, when the season’s penultimate round took place in Catalonia. Now, the series is making a comeback to the country with the all-new Rally Islas Canarias, which joins the championship calendar for the first time and takes place in late April.
Toyota’s star driver Elfyn Evans has been eager to return to Spain. The last time the WRC was held on Spanish asphalt roads, Evans called it “almost criminal” that there weren’t more rallies like it in the calendar.
What has impressed Evans the most is how popular rallying is in Spain. He wants to take the sport to places where there are large crowds and where rallying is close to the hearts of the people.
The Welshman recently competed at the Sierra Morena Rally in Cordoba, Spain. While the main focus was to fine-tune the car setup for the upcoming asphalt challenge, Evans was clearly impressed by more than just the roads.
“There were a lot of people out there,” he told DirtFish.
“I’m hoping it’ll be the same when we get to the next round in the Canaries. I’ve heard from people who have done the event before that there’s usually a lot of spectators,” Evans said with anticipation.
Once again, Evans made it clear that rallying belongs to the people – and Spain has no shortage of passionate rally fans.
“I think you know my feelings about how important it is to go rallying where there’s a lot of fans and the sport’s really appreciated. Spain is definitely one of those places and it’s really nice to be going back, Evans enthused.
Rally Islas Canarias takes place from 24–27 April.
