Unbeatable balance for Yeray Lemes and Hyundai Canarias in the 46th Maspalomas Rally that was held this Saturday, October 26th in the south of the island of Gran Canaria. Although their participation in this race was intended to test the R5+ kit provided by Hyundai Motorsport for this end of the season, the two units entered, the one of the Lanzarote native and the one of his teammate Toñi Ponce, took the first two positions.
In a fast and demanding route, this sixth round of the BP Rally Championship of Las Palmas, started for Fuertwagen Motorsport with the uncertainty of what would be the performance of the Hyundai i20 in its R5+ version with a larger flange, without the pop-off valve and with a custom electronics. Lemes, co-piloted by Daniel Rosario from Teror, faced expectantly that first section that ended with a full house for the driver from Lanzarote in the three timed sections: 'Maspalomas-Fataga', 'Agua Latente-Ayacata' and 'Barranquillo Andrés-Cercados de Espino'.
Getting the measure of his car's performance, but with a perfect set-up for the southern sections, the appearance of rain in the second section allowed him to test the i20 for the first time on wet asphalt and, in addition, multiply his advantage. A sudden downpour forced the teams to survive in the final stretch of that repetition through the same sections of the morning, although Lemes and Rosario knew how to play their cards and strengthened their lead with a 40'' lead over Toñi Ponce and Rubén González.
The third section should have been a formality, but the appearance in the itinerary of the king section of about 20 kilometers, the one of 'Maspalomas-Fataga-Tunte' advised caution. Lemes again set the pace, but with tenths of a second difference with respect to Ponce and finished off his triumph in 'Barranquillo Andrés-Cercados de Espino' completing his full of scratch in the Maspalomas Rally.
"From the first section we set a comfortable pace and maintained it all day long. The car has gone wonderfully and the team has done an impressive job to make the new kit work properly. We have been able to test the car in all conditions, Dani has been perfect with the notes and I think we have made all the fans enjoy. I am very glad that Hyundai Canarias has been able to take this well-deserved double in Maspalomas. It has been a fantastic day for everyone", said the Lanzarote native at the end of this race.
José Pérez, director of the Fuertwagen Motorsport team that achieved a full podium in Maspalomas, could not be more satisfied. "Happiness is the word that best defines what we all feel, from the first to the last, of the team. Except for some detail, the R5+ kit has worked perfectly and Yeray has done an outstanding rally. It could not have been a better test for this end of the season and, in addition, this overall result is a real injection of energy for everyone".
Although in the spirit of Lemes and Fuertwagen Motorsport was to be this coming weekend in the XXII Rally Isla de Los Volcanes of the Spanish Gravel Rally Championship, the celebration in short dates of the two races that will decide the Canary Islands Asphalt Rally Championship has forced to concentrate all the resources in this front.