The Rally Islas Canarias is the final round of the 2020 FIA European Rally Championship and Team MRF Tyres with Craig Breen and Paul Nagle are looking forward to tackle the flowing Spanish tarmac stages.
Team MRF Tyres will enter one car, Breen and Nagle’s Hyundai i20 R5, for this event. It is a strong field for the final FIA ERC rally of the season with a total 29 R5/Rally2 cars going for the top ERC prize with many more cars entered for the national class.
It is another tarmac rally but very different to last time out in Hungary. The Spanish tarmac is fast and flowing through the mountains, a world away from the gravel and mud infested roads from the Hungarian fields.
Team MRF Tyres comes to the island of Gran Canarias after a positive display in Rally Hungary where Breen and Nagle took two stage wins and were running in second place until an engine issue ended the rally.
The pace demonstrated the rapid development by the team from MRF Tyres in what is the first season for the Indian manufacturer at top level European rallying.
For normal stable-mates, Emil Lindholm and Mikael Korhonen, their FIA ERC season ended in Hungary. However, they took to the Italian Championship with a one-off drive for Team MRF Tyres at the Tuscan Rewind.
The duo was out to develop the gravel tyres in Italy and came home in eighth place, after losing time due to a suspension issue.
Tamara Molinaro and Piercarlo Capolongo also joined the MRF Tyres family in Tuscany, finishing 17th overall, second in the ‘under 25’ category and leading the ‘female’ category.
For Breen, Nagle and Team MRF Tyres, the Rally Islas Canarias is the final rally of a busy 2020 season after the cancellation of the Spa Rally.
Rally Islas Canarias has been a fixture of the FIA ERC for many years but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been moved from its usual May date to the end of November.
Still the teams can expect warm and sunny conditions on Gran Canarias, with the island found in the Atlantic off the coast of Morocco, treating the crews to some winter sunshine.
In total there 17 stages and 201.79 km of competitive action.
The organisers of Rally Islas Canarias are giving back to the local communities as many were affected by wildfires in 2019. This year, the route has been altered to allow the rally to visit these communities as much as possible.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, spectators are not allowed into the event.
Live radio will be provided from www.fiaerc.com and four stages will be streamed throughout the weekend.
Follow Team MRF Tyres’ progress on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Quotes
Craig Breen, (Driver, Hyundai i20 R5)
“It was a long time ago that I was in Gran Canarias. It was 2013 when i last competed here. l really enjoy the rally. I was on the podium then, with second place the last time around! It will be interesting to see what the weather will be like at this time of year. Normally the weather and road conditions will be a bit more consistent than what we had in Hungary. The roads are smoother, wider and faster. I am definitely looking forward to it.”
“Our pace in Hungary was impressive and to get two scratch times shows how much progress we are making. It was unfortunate what happened in Hungary, and we need to carry the pace forward and try for a good result in Rally Islas Canarias.”
“What the entire team at MRF Tyres has done this year has definitely been impressive. We have been trying very, very hard. We have been testing in the meantime to make the tyres more and more competitive. Considering where we were a couple of months back, to where we are now, we’re definitely making big improvements. Team MRF Tyres will keep on doing and trying to gain data and develop the tyre even further in Spain.”
