Devine Aiming To Finish Season With A Flourish
Posted: November 26, 2020 5:18 PM
Reigning Motorsport Ireland International Driver of the Year Callum Devine is aiming to finish his FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) campaign with a flourish on the final round of the series this weekend, Rally Islas Canarias. The event was originally meant to be the penultimate rally of the season but with the Spa Rally in Belgium recently cancelled, the popular rally based on the island of Gran Canaria will now play host to the season finale.
It will once again be a new event to Callum and his co-driver James Fulton but the pair head to the rally on the back of a good performance on the previous round in Hungary and know that the same is possible here. Speaking ahead of the event Callum said;
“It’s been a challenging year but we are definitely progressing and finding our feet at this level. I’m gelling with the Hyundai i20 R5 all the time and we have a few set up changes planned for Rally Islas Canarias. It’s no secret I enjoy tarmac events and I’ll certainly be looking to prove a few things to myself this week. The key at this level is consistency and that’s something I need to keep working on. There will be a lot of quick guys on this event including a few local specialists which is great to see because you want to be proving yourself against the best. We’ll try to finish the year off on a high by getting to the end of the rally and to get more experience for next year.”
For the second event in a row, Devine be joined by fellow Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Josh McErlean while the PCRS team will run a third Hyundai i20 R5 for Pauric Duffy and Jeff Case. There’s also a number of other Irish competitors taking part in the event.
“I really enjoy when other Irish drivers can do these events and especially when a lot of us are running the same team, in the same cars. For the Academy to be running a pair of cars again is fantastic and bodes really well for the future. So many people from so many quarters have helped make this year become a reality and I’m forever grateful to them. To round out the year with a good performance would be brilliant for everyone involved.”
Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Junior Driver Devine’s rally will begin with a qualifying stage on Thursday afternoon which will decide road order for the weekend and this will be followed by a ceremonial start in Las Palmas that evening. The competitive action will begin on Friday morning with nine stages totalling just under 100km. Saturday, the final day, sees a further 8 stages totalling just over 100km with the leading cars returning to the final time control at 4.30pm.
To keep up to date with Callum throughout Rally Islas Canarias, make sure to follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Pauric Duffy / Jeff Case enter Rally Islas Canarias
Posted: November 11, 2020 2:18 PM
FIA ERC RALLY ISLAS CANARIAS DECIDER SET FOR NEW NOVEMBER DATE
Posted: June 16, 2020 7:21 AM
The 2020 FIA European Rally Championship will be decided one week earlier than had been planned after it was announced that Rally Islas Canarias will be brought forward to 26-28 November, subject to FIA ratification.
Having been postponed from its original date of 7-9 May in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Tarmac-only event, which counts for FIA ERC and Spanish championship points, was handed a new date of 3-5 December.
However, in order to ensure the re-scheduling was workable for the Spanish championship and its drivers and teams, a new date of 26-28 November will be submitted to the FIA World Motor Sport Council for final approval when it meets on 19 June.
“Rally Islas Canarias is not only one of the highlights of the FIA ERC season, it’s also a key component of the Spanish championship,” explained Jean-Baptiste Ley, the ERC Co-ordinator.
“With Spanish federation RFEDA a strong partner of the ERC, it was important we could agree on a date that worked for all parties. Besides, we are all in the same boat due to COVID-19 so it’s important we all help each other. I am therefore very pleased we have found a solution and look forward to working towards the 44th running of Rally Islas Canarias in November.”
Rally Islas Canarias to host FIA ERC season decider **
Posted: March 23, 2020 11:20 AM
Rally Islas Canarias will host the deciding round of the 2020 FIA European Rally Championship from 3-5 December** due to government restrictions – introduced as a result of the coronavirus pandemic – making it not possible for the event to run as scheduled from 7-9 May.
In what is an extremely challenging and ever-changing situation, health and safety considerations remain the absolute priority and the thoughts of the entire ERC family are with all those people experiencing great difficulty and suffering at this time.
However, the importance of maintaining the ERC’s eight-event schedule, not just for everybody who depends upon the rallies taking place for their income and enjoyment, but for all the businesses located within communities hosting events, is also recognised.
Therefore, Eurosport Events, the ERC promoter, has worked closely with the local organising team, Club Deportivo Todo Sport, the government authorities and municipalities on Gran Canaria, the Spanish ASN, RFEDA, and the FIA, to achieve an alternative date, which also had to take into account the requirements of the local and national championships that include Rally Islas Canarias on their respective calendars.
Like Rally Hungary, which was originally scheduled as the season finale but now becomes the penultimate round from 6-8 November, Rally Islas Canarias is a very well run and promoted event. It will be a more than worthy host of the deciding round of the 2020 championship.
Jean-Baptiste Ley, the ERC Co-ordinator, said: “Clearly, postponing and rescheduling events brings upheaval and is not the work of a moment. By monitoring the situation on a continuous basis with all organisations who make Rally Islas Canarias possible, we have been able to secure an alternative date and maintain the planned eight-event calendar. We thank everyone involved for helping us to achieve this, including the promoters of other ERC events affected by the change of dates.
“We obviously realise the delayed start to the season is resulting in considerable compromise and hardship, but we continue to acknowledge the support and cooperation we are receiving from our drivers, teams and partners. Preparations for the upcoming events are in full swing and we look forward to another action-packed and highly competitive ERC season getting underway.”
Germán Morales, President of the Rally Islas Canarias Organising Committee, said:
“Needless to say, this situation was not in our plans, but during this time we have had the full support and understanding of Eurosport Events, the FIA ??and RFEDA. Keeping the date would have led us, quite possibly, to a hasty cancellation with uncertain consequences. This new calendar slot allows us to work with all the enthusiasm and with the extra honour of being the rally that decides the 2020 season, also hosting the awards ceremony. December will allow us to show off more about our archipelago, landscapes and climate.”
The ERC season is now set to begin on Rally Liep?ja from 29-31 May.
**Date subject to FIA validation
Event Postponed
Posted: March 20, 2020 7:12 AM
The 44 Rally Islas Canarias will be postponed due to government restrictions introduced as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, event organiser Club Deportivo Todo Sport has confirmed.
A new date has been submitted to the FIA for approval and is due to be announced next week when more details will become available.
Rally Islas Canarias is one of the most popular events on the calendar and had been due to open the 2020 FIA European Rally Championship season from 7-9 May.
Rally Guide / Details / Event Website
Posted: March 5, 2020 10:49 AM
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