The Canary Islands Rally Championship 2026 kicked off with a great spectacle in Lanzarote, where the international team formed by Alexey Lukyanyuk and Yury Kulikov claimed victory in the Orvecame–Isla de Lanzarote Rally after dominating practically from start to finish the event held on the island.
At the controls of a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, the two-time European champion set the pace from the first stages and won five of the seven timed stages, in addition to scoring the TC Plus. With this, Lukyanyuk and Kulikov become the first leaders of both the Canary Islands Championship and the Las Palmas Provincial Championship 2026.
The triumph had a special meaning for the Russian driver of Cypriot nationality, who did not hide his emotion at the end of the race. “It has been a long time coming, it was about time, we have finally achieved victory,” he exclaimed at the stop control of the last section after completing a practically perfect rally in which, as he admitted, it was not necessary to drive to the limit.
The podium was completed by the usual protagonists of the regional championship. Yeray Lemes from Lanzarote, co-driven by Aitor Cambeiro with the Citroën C3, secured second position 21.2 seconds behind the winner. The local driver, who has accumulated 13 victories in this event based in Arrecife, performed a solid rally although on this occasion he opted for a more conservative strategy with the aim of securing points for the championship.
The third place went to the current regional champions Enrique Cruz and Yeray Mujica with the Toyota Yaris GR, who finished 13 seconds behind Lemes and failed to improve their position in the final stages.
Toñín Suárez finished at the gates of the podium alongside Kimberley González with their Porsche 911 GT3. The team also scored two scratches in the San Bartolomé section and placed fourth overall, a result that allows them to lead the Canary Islands Asphalt Rally Trophy (TCRA).
The classification continued with Sergio Fuentes and Óscar Cabrera in fifth and sixth position respectively with their Rally2 vehicles, followed by the Porsche of Aníbal Machín and Rubén Pérez. The young Yoday Betancort, in his debut with the Hyundai i20 N Rally2, was eighth, while Álvaro Caballero (BMW M3) and Julián Arrocha–Marcial Martín (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) completed the top ten.
In the different categories, Javier Cañada and Aday Ortiz took the victory in Category 2 with their Opel Corsa Rally4, while Rubén Rivera and Óliver Hernández prevailed in Category 3 with a Peugeot 206 XS. In Category 1 the triumph went to Suárez-González, fourth overall. In the Classics section, Alexander and Jonathan Barrios remained as the only classified with their Honda Civic after Luis Duque's withdrawal.
Of the 37 teams that took the start, finally 27 managed to complete the event, also scoring for the BP Championship of Las Palmas and the Insular of Lanzarote.
The competition concluded with the final ceremony held in Arrecife, next to the Open Mall, where the trophies were awarded before numerous fans and with the presence of institutional representatives from the Cabildo de Lanzarote and the Government of the Canary Islands, putting the finishing touch on an edition that once again gathered a large audience along the island's sections.
