The drivers Yohan Rossel and Florian Barral have become the first leaders of the 26th Isla de Los Volcanes Land Rally - Arrecife City Trophy. The stars invited by the Evesport Sports Club have imposed their world-class pace in the show section. At the controls of a Citroën C3 Rally2, they have updated the record of a route that once again brought together hundreds of fans at the Arrecife Fairgrounds.
Just behind the Frenchmen were Sebastián Franco and Diego Vallejo. The Bolivian, who was accompanied in his previous tests by Mads Ostberg and Marco Bulacia, is confirming himself as an aspirant to the podium positions of the Lanzarote event. The provisional third place is occupied by Joan Vinyes and Jordi Mercader. The Andorrans, with a Hyundai i20 N Rally2, gave up 6.4” with respect to the scratch.
Alexander Villanueva and José Murado, who are leading the Spanish Land Rally Cup (CERT), are in fourth place with their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. The top five is completed by Xavi Vidales and Jordi Hereu with a Škoda Fabia R5 that precedes the surprise duo of this Friday, which is made up of Alejandro Rodríguez and Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, sixth aboard the Ford Fiesta Rally3.
Yeray Lemes and Aitor Cambeiro, this time with a Škoda Fabia R5, will sleep seventh after losing time with two mistakes in the first lap through the capital city. Borja Pérez and Rubén Pérez, using another Škoda Fabia R5 unit, are in eighth position and just ahead of Juan Carlos Quintana-Jonathan Hernández (Ford Fiesta Rally2) and Gabriele Campagnoli-Nicola Arena (Hyundai i20 N Rally2).
Juan de la Cruz and Alain González, in charge of opening the track on Saturday
After the celebration of the 'City of Arrecife' super special, the teams moved to the Parque Islas Canarias for the starting position election ceremony and the presentation of the drivers. In the first of these events, Daniel de la Cruz and Alain González were given the task of opening the road in the sections on Saturday. With their Mazda 323 GTR, they will be in charge of starting to mark the way on the dirt tracks of the island of Lanzarote.
Yohan Rossel and Florian Barral, who could choose a position as far back as twenty-second, opted for seventeenth. Starting from there will free him from any task related to cleaning. Yeray Lemes and Aitor Cambeiro opted for the eighteenth position, while the leaders of the CERT, Alexander Villanueva and José Murado, will start nineteenth. The last of the all-wheel drive vehicles to start will be the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 of the Italians Gabriele Campagnoli and Nicola Arena.
This Saturday, July 20, the teams authorized to take the start in this 26th Isla de Los Volcanes Land Rally will face a total of eleven sections and 87.92 timed kilometers. In the morning, the action will take place in the southern half of the island, more specifically, in the 'Yaiza' and 'Mácher-Puerto del Carmen' specials. In the afternoon, the roads of the north and the sections of 'Tinajo-Las Betancoras', 'Tabayesco-Mala' and 'Las Nieves-Teguise' will take over. The awards ceremony is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. in the Parque Islas Canarias.
The 26th Isla de Los Volcanes Land Rally Arrecife City Trophy can be followed via streaming through the Facebook channel of Fórmula Motor.