The Lanzarote Rally is already underway, and with that race, the Canary Islands and BP Las Palmas Championships kick off in spectacular fashion, with all the candidates for the regional title present on the island of volcanoes. An expectation that was confirmed by the thousands of fans who followed the starting ceremony this night, from the Rambla Medular and the Open Mall of Arrecife, whose mayor Jonathan de León and the Minister of Sports of the Island Council were in charge of giving the starting signal to the finally 45 teams present.
Along with them, numerous councilors from the capital and other municipalities of the island, representatives of the main sponsors such as CICAR, Orvecame, Open Mall, BP, and the presidents of the federations of Las Palmas and the Canary Islands.
The starting order was done in reverse, and as the best teams arrived at the ceremony stage, the fans continued to increase their fervor with applause for everyone. And attending the luxury parade of no less than eight latest-generation Rally2 cars, in the hands of great champions from the Canary Islands, Lanzarote, and even Europe, with cars such as the Citroen C3, Hyundai i20 N, Skoda Fabia RS, and the novelty of the Toyota Yaris GR.
And the loudest ovation for Yeray Lemes and Aitor Cambeiro, carrying number 1 in the Citroen C3 Rally2, as the current regional champion. The Lanzarote couple had an emotional remembrance for Franciso Lemes "El Menda", driver and father of Yeray, who passed away just a month ago and to whom he surely wants to dedicate a new victory in his rich record of 12 wins in the home race.
Moments before, the eight teams with Rally2-type cars and favorites to win the Orvecame Rally, with their drivers and co-drivers, had a prior contact with the public and signed autographs for everyone who approached the table on the starting ramp itself. A lot of empathy from all of them with the fans and showing themselves especially friendly, the two-time European champion, Alexey Lukyanuk. The organizer of the race provided the posters as a souvenir of a 46th edition that is already historic due to the level reached by the list of participants.
And this Saturday it is time for all this great atmosphere to be reflected in the eight timed sections, with a fight on many fronts and the excitement to be maintained until the end of the day, which will end with the arrival at the finish line and the awards ceremony, starting at 6:30 p.m. at this same point in the capital Arrecife. The special "Tegoyo-Tías", of 8.74 km, will open the battle between all the candidates for the final victory and become the winners of the first rally of the 2025 season in the Canary Islands.
