- European Rally Championship moves onto demanding asphalt stages in Gran Canaria;
- No less than 27 competitors in R5 cars on the entry list for Rally Islas Canarias;
- Record-breaking field of 125 crews from 18 countries in competition with base in Las Palmas;
- LOTOS Rally Team crew ready to fight for rally win;
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria plays host to the second round of extremely fierce competition in the 2017 FIA European Rally Championship. After unpredictable and full of plot twists battle in the Azores, Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jarek Baran face another fight, in the 41st edition of Rally Islas Canarias. The LOTOS Rally Team crew, supported by their partners, will challenge no less than 26 competitors in R5 cars and this is another proof of difficulty level in this year’s Championship. The rally, which takes place over four thousand kilometres from the capital city of Poland, is a very interesting round for the Polish fans. Kajto, four-time Polish Rally Champion, will fight against three other champions of his homeland: Łukasz Habaj, Bryan Bouffier and Grzegorz Grzyb.
Rally Islas Canarias, taking place on 4th-6th May, is a typical asphalt round in the European Championship calendar. It is famous for twisty special stages with huge elevation changes and, therefore, changeable weather conditions. However, the most distinctive feature is asphalt itself: the rough surface destroys the tyres at enormous rate. Although the organisers have prepared just twelve special stages, you should not allow yourselves to be misled: the overall competitive distance exceeds 200 kilometres!
The rally history goes back to 1977 and it formed a part of the European Rally Championship no less than 23 times. The winners’ list features big names of World Champions, such as Didier Auriol or Carlos Sainz who has five victories in the Canaries under his belt. Kajetan Kajetanowicz enjoyed a perfect debut here last year, winning half of the stages and finishing in runner-up position. This time out the driver from Polish mountain town of Ustroń is ready for another battle for top places and championship points. Kajto fights for record-breaking achievement: scoring his third consecutive European Rally Championship title.
The entry list should impress even the most demanding rally fans. In addition to aforementioned Polish Rally Champions, Kajetan Kajetanowicz will be challenged by his biggest opponents, including Alexey Lukyanuk (Ford Fiesta R5, Russia), Nicolay Gryazin (Skoda Fabia R5, Latvia), winner of the previous round Bruno Magalhaes (Skoda Fabia R5, Portugal) and double Rally Islas Canarias winner Luis Monzon Artiles (Ford Fiesta R5, Spain).
Kajetan Kajetanowicz:
– Rally Islas Canarias is not only about excellent feeling, ideal driving line and perfect pace notes, but also about great number of different details. We will try not to forget about them and at the same time enjoy every single corner of this twisty route. G-forces are huge, bigger than during other rounds. I am facing another impressive character trial, test of precision and cooperation within the team, as well as period of thinking on my feet. Together with the whole LOTOS Rally Team we share good memories from last year, we have a great car and all things considered, firm reasons for optimism.
Starts of Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Jarek Baran are supported by strategic partner of LOTOS Rally Team – LOTOS Group – as well as CUBE.ITG, Delphi and Driving Experience. More info about Kajetan Kajetanowicz and the team available at: www.lotosrallyteam.pl, www.kajto.pl, www.facebook.com/EmocjeDoPelna, www.facebook.com/KajetanKajetanowicz and www.twitter.com/Kajto_pl
The 2017 Rally Islas Canarias in numbers:
- 2nd round of eight in the 2017 FIA European Rally Championship;
- 27 R5 cars on the entry list of this extremely interesting event;
- 2nd place of the LOTOS Rally Team crew in last year’s rally;
- 6 stage wins for Kajetanowicz last year – exactly half of possible 12;
- 83% of last year’s stages Kajto finished in top three (10 out of 12 stages);
- 41st edition of this event takes place this year;
- 2nd outing of Kajetan Kajetanowicz in this rally;
- 103 – the number of stages won in the FIA ERC by the LOTOS Rally Team driver;
- 125 crews from 18 countries on the entry list for round 2 of the 2017 FIA ERC;
- 12 special stages and 209.29 competitive kilometres – the length of this year’s Rally Islas Canarias route;
- 25.20 kms – the longest special stage of the rally, Moya test run on Saturday, 6th May;
- 4028 kms is the straight-line distance from Warsaw, capital city of Poland, to rally base in Las Palmas;
- Five consecutive wins in Rally Islas Canarias by its record holder Carlos Sainz – double World Rally Champion;
- Two World Rally Champions (Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol) and four European Rally Champions (Jan Kopecky, Piero Liatti, Juho Hanninen, Fabrizio Tabaton) on winners’ list;
- In 1982 Rally Islas Canarias was included in the European Rally Championship calendar for the first time;
- 23 times this event formed a part of the FIA European Rally Championship calendar and it was a round of Intercontinental Rally Challenge three times;
- 249 days separate Rally Islas Canarias from previous outing of the LOTOS Rally Team crew in an asphalt round of the FIA ERC;
- In their 17 previous FIA ERC outings Kajto and Jarek scored points.
Schedule of the 2017 Rally Islas Canarias (all times are CET):
Thursday 4 May:
10:00 – Free Practice
12:18 – Qualifying Stage (Cenobio Valeron, 3.57 kms)
18:00 – Selection of start positions (Las Palmas)
18:30 – Press conference (Las Palmas)
21:30 – Starting ceremony (Las Palmas)
Friday 5 May (6 special stages, 97.87 competitive kilometres):
11:48 – SS 1 – San Mateo 1 (25.13 kms)
12:41 – SS 2 – Artenara (14.79 kms)
13:07 – SS 3 – Lomo Del Palo (15.14 kms)
14:51 – Service A – 30 mins (Las Palmas)
16:09 – SS 4 – San Mateo 2 (25.13 kms)
17:02 – SS 5 – Mirador de Artenara (14.38 kms)
18:40 – SS 6 – Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (3.30 kms)
Flexi Service E – 45 mins (Las Palmas)
Saturday 6 May (6 special stages, 109.42 competitive kilometres):
10:38 – Service C – 15 mins (Las Palmas)
11:28 – SS 7 – Moya 1 (25.20 kms)
12:16 – SS 8 – Tejeda 1 (15.01 kms)
13:04 – SS 9 – Las Vallas 1 (14.50 kms)
14:36 – Service D – 30 mins (Las Palmas)
15:59 – SS 10 – Moya 2 (25.20 kms)
16:37 – SS 11 – Tejeda 2 (15.01 kms)
17:25 – SS 12 – Las Vallas 2 (14.50 kms)
18:47 – Service E – 10 mins (Las Palmas)
19:20 – Ceremonial Finish (Las Palmas)
