› Sharing a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Eurosol Racing Team Hungary, Eric Camilli/ Thibault De La Haye finish the fifth round of the FIA World Rally Championship third in WRC2.
› Roberto Daprà and co-driver Luca Guglielmetti from Italy bring Delta Rally Team’s Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 home fourth in WRC2.
› Five Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crews finish inside the top ten of the WRC2 classification.
Las Palmas (ESP), 26 April 2026 – The Rally Islas Canarias – Rally of Spain, the fifth round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship, took place on the winding, narrow mountain roads in the Las Palmas area. The extremely grippy surface requires a very precise, racing-like driving style, usually favouring the drivers from Southern Europe. Of all the Škoda crews, Eric Camilli and co-driver Thibault De La Haye handled this challenge best: After a last stage drama for a competitor, the French duo finished third in the WRC2 category.
In total, five Škoda crews scored WRC2 points during the second proper tarmac event of the season. While nobody could really keep up with the eventual winners, Eric Camilli and co-driver Thibault De La Haye held fourth position in WRC2 already after the first leg. The Frenchmen in the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Eurosol Racing Team Hungary opted for a tactical approach. Having avoided any problems, they started into the last stage of the rally fourth in WRC2. However, a technical issue for the crew positioned directly ahead of them promoted Eric Camilli/Thibault De La Haye to third place at the finish.
Roberto Daprà and co-driver Luca Guglielmetti got the event off to a flying start by achieving the fastest WRC2 time in the first stage, run over an artificially made track inside the football stadium in Las Palmas. “I started my career with so-called Gymkhanas, I still really love these kind of stages,“ Roberto Daprà explained. On his 25th birthday weekend, the Italian was constantly working on the setup of his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 for the stages outside the stadium. “I try to do something different to the others with the tyres,“ he said at one point. They eventually finished fourth in WRC2. These twelve points mean that Roberto Daprà has climbed to third position in the WRC2 overall standings.
Another Škoda crew hailing from Southern Europe are Jan Solans and co-driver Rodrigo Sanjuán. Competing for Team PH.Ph., the Spaniards also managed to stay out of trouble and reached the finish in seventh position in WRC2. Emil Lindholm from Finland could match the speed of his competitors from the south of Europe. The former WRC2 Champion and co-driver Gabriel Morales held fourth position in the category after five stages. However, the Toksport WRT run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 limped into the finish of SS6 with a flat tyre. After losing one minute with this incident, the Finnish-Brazilian duo fought their way back to eighth position in WRC2, achieving one WRC2 stage win (SS9). The WRC2 top ten were rounded up by reigning Junior World Rally Champions Mille Johansson/Johan Grönvall, another Škoda crew from Northern Europe.
WRC2 front-runners Robert Virves and co-driver Jakko Viilo were not competing for championship points this time. The Estonians used the event mainly to better familiarise themselves with the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 on asphalt stages. “I'm not going to worry about the times,” explained Robert Virves, outlining his strategy at the start. They kept the Toksport WRT car on the road and out of trouble, eventually finishing 15th in the RC2 class.
Victory in the WRC Masters Cup classification went to the reigning champions: Miguel Granados from Mexico and Spanish co-driver Marc Martí drove their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 to the top of the podium.
After two events on tarmac stages, the FIA World Rally Championship switches back to gravel. Rally de Portugal (7-10 May 2026), based in Matosinhos close to Porto, is next.
Number of the rally: 58
He had been away from the FIA World Rally Championship for around 58 months. However, at his first WRC event since Rally Estonia 2021, Alexey Lukyanuk completed three stages in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 quicker than anyone else in WRC2. The double FIA European Rally Champion and co-driver Yuriy Kulikov posted three fastest times on Sunday morning.
Rally Islas Canarias – Rally of Spain (ESP), 23-26 April 2026,
5th round of the FIA World Rally Championship, Result WRC2
1 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (FRA/FRA), Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, 2:50.43.2 hours
2 Alejandro Cachón/Borja Rozada (ESP/ESP), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +25.1 seconds
3 Eric Camilli/Thibault De La Haye (FRA/FRA), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, + 51.2 seconds
4 Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti (ITA/ITA), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +1.00.6 minutes
5 Léo Rossel/Guillaume Mercoiret (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 Rally2, +1.02.3 minutes
6 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (BUL/KGZ), Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, +1.09.5 minutes
Standings WRC2/Drivers (after 5 of 14 events)
1 Yohan Rossel (FRA), Lancia, 52 points
2 Léo Rossel (FRA), Citroën, 52 points
3 Roberto Daprà (ITA), Škoda, 37 points
4 Roope Korhonen (FIN), Toyota, 35 points
5 Nikolay Gryazin (BUL), Lancia, 31 points
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