After the start of the rally on Friday afternoon with the Arrecife super special, the long day on Saturday began early with the Yaiza section, where the scratch shared by Yeray Lemes and Mads Ostberg gave the provisional lead to the latter, who after the first six sections of the 12 planned continues to lead the general classification with the Citroen C3 Rally 2 and his co-driver Patrik Barth.
A lead that he snatched from Diego Domínguez-Rogelio Peñate, who were delayed in the general classification after suffering two punctures in the other Citroen C3 Rally 2, so he is now third. A step on the podium that he recovered to the detriment of Juan Carlos Quintana-Yeray Mujica, who suffered a heavy blow with a rollover in their Skoda Fabia Rally2, adding a premature retirement in TC5 (Puerto del Carmen) in this edition of the "Isla de los Volcanes". Both athletes are well but have been transferred to a health center for examination.
Only three vehicles have remained in this first part of the route, which has had a lot of public despite the early start. But it has been worth it for the spectacle and high level of driving demonstrated by the teams fighting for the places of honor.
In the middle of the two world championship drivers is the first Canarian team with Yeray Lemes-Aitor Cambeiro with the Hyundai i20 Rally2. The Lanzarote natives are the only ones who are now attacking as much as the Norwegian driver, but their times for the moment do not match the pace set by Ostberg-Barth, who lowers his own times in each pass and his advantage after TC6 is 16.7 seconds. In turn, Domínguez-Peñate are already separated by a wider difference of 1.07 minutes.
In the Mitsubishi Evo 4x4 section, the dominators are the Lanzarote natives Esteban Feo-Suso Alonso, third overall in 2022, with Javier Sosa and Borja Pérez next. And among the two-wheel drive vehicles, the leader is the Golf of Cristian Calderín-Verónica Tejera, in addition to a good 11th place overall. Good pace also for Pedro Peñate's Maverick, with Luis Hernandez as co-driver, in his Dakar side by Side
In addition to car number 2, numbers 20 and 30 are also not in the race, while number 19 managed to return to the rally after repairing the damage suffered. Otherwise, some punctures in the Yaiza section, greatly affecting the new Ford Fiesta Rally3 of Alejandro and Miguel Rodríguez. Very different the section of Puerto del Carmen (Tías-Macher), with a floor in perfect condition with hardly any stones to avoid and very demanding technically due to its crests and crossings.
The rally sections now change to a more northern area of Lanzarote, continuing with the specials of Teguise-Las Nieves, Mala-Tabayesco and Tinajo-Las Betancoras, with the first pass through the latter, with its large crests and jumps, chosen as TC Plus. An important handicap is that the last section will have four sections in a row without assistance, only a remote refueling at the Farmer's Monument, so many teams will choose to carry a double spare wheel in their cars to solve the untimely punctures.
At the end of the last section (control stop) that is scheduled for 18:30 hours, a reception will be held for the first provisional classified of the RTIV23
The event will end from 19:30 hours in the Parque Islas Canarias of Arrecife, with the arrival ceremony and awards ceremony.
