Skoda Motorsport hopes to succeed at Rally Islas Canarias again. Both factory crews and two importer teams – a total of four Skoda Fabia Super 2000s to take the start.

Both Skoda Motorsport factory crews will appear at the second event of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge to take place in the Canary Islands from 14-16 April. Furthermore, the field will include two Skoda Fabia Super 2000s supported by importers - Škoda Belgium and Škoda UK. Škoda took the first three places in this race last year.

Both of the factory drivers, Juho Hänninen and Jan Kopecký, are optimistic about the rally. Kopecký says: “I am certainly looking forward to this rally, as we celebrated victory in the Canary Islands last year and this year our goal is ambitious as well. However, the competition is going to be even tougher than last year. The field will surely include a number of excellent drivers, but that is exactly what makes rallying and the IRC championship so exciting”.

Juho Hänninen, the reigning IRC champion and the runner-up in the Canary Islands last year, adds: “My last year's second place was fantastic. I have definitely made some progress on asphalt ever since; I feel increasingly comfortable on this surface and although I am mainly concentrating on S-WRC this year, I see this event as a pleasant extra and an excellent opportunity to continue improving. I  have the best possible memories of IRC.”

Skoda Fabia Super

The Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles will also see two Fabia Super 2000s supported by Škoda importers – Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floene (Škoda UK Motorsport) and Freddy Loix/Frédéric Miclotte (BFO Škoda) and.  The rally comprisesc 12 stages (190 kilometres) in hilly terrain  that will test the drivers' technical skills on asphalt renowned for its high levels of grip.[Source: Skoda]