The WRC returns to the volcanic landscapes of Gran Canaria for the second consecutive year after a successful debut on the world stage last year. The 2026 edition features 18 grueling stages, including the highly anticipated Super Special Stage, which will be held at the Las Palmas football stadium.
While the grip levels on the island’s asphalt are high, the unpredictable weather conditions and potential dense fog on the higher-altitude stages will demand ultimate precision. The circuit-like stages are unforgiving – long, flowing corners that punish any mistake in the pacenotes. Factor in the island's volatile weather, where conditions can shift dramatically between the coast and the mountain stages, the crew that adapts quickest will have the edge.
Q+A with Hyundai Motorsport WRC Sporting Director Andrew Wheatley
How will the team regroup after coming so close to victory in Croatia?
“There is no question that Croatia was a disappointment, in part because it was not an event that we had targeted as being competitive, so to have two cars fighting for the podium was great. But Croatia is now in the history books – we are eyes forward to the next event, Rally Islas Canaries. Everyone in the team knows that to beat our competitors we have to take every possible advantage and so we need to reset, re-focus and make sure we come back ready to give the best possible performance again.”
What are the team’s goals for Rally Islas Canarias?
“Canary Islands is an event where we need to focus on making zero mistakes – we can put ourselves in the best chance to fight for the podium on Sunday afternoon if we optimise everything. We will leave no stone unturned to make sure we cover every base during our preparation. That way, we can take advantage of any small issues or challenges that may arise for our competitors. We saw in Croatia that we have the speed to fight with Taka and Sami, and we are confident that the recent revisions from testing will help us to continue chasing the top step of the podium.”
What are the challenges of this event?
“The key challenge is the nature of the road surface itself. We know the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 can be very fast – we have seen it with fastest times on every rally this year –, and as we saw in Croatia, we again had 100% perfect reliability, and every part of the team was working at 110%. If we can continue that, we will give ourselves a very good chance to be challenging for the podium. The other factor is rain – if it rains on the island, it can completely change the formbook, and then it is very much game on.”
Views from the crews
Adrien Fourmaux said: “Rally Islas Canarias will be very different from the tarmac rallies we have had so far this year. We don't expect any dirt on the road – it will be very clean, very high grip – and that means it will demand a big push in terms of both car and driver performance. Every second will be difficult to optimise, and the pacenotes will be a major challenge too; we really need to be perfect to get the maximum out of the car. The weather is another factor that can make this rally quite tricky. Being close to the sea can offer nice weather conditions, but up in the mountains the rain can roll in and bring heavy fog with it. That can make it feel like a completely different rally depending on whether you are at sea level or in the mountains. Our focus will be on optimising everything to deliver the best possible result.”
Thierry Neuville said: “Rally Islas Canarias is probably the most straightforward tarmac event of the season in terms of road conditions – it’s the cleanest event, with the highest grip conditions of any tarmac rally we do. The roads have a very circuit-like character set in the middle of a beautiful landscape, but they are very demanding and technical when it comes to pace notes. That is one of the main challenges here: making good pace notes that you can trust, because the corners are so long. We have worked hard on the car, trying to make it more precise while also improving the balance. We don't know yet what we will be able to achieve in terms of results, but if everyone gives their absolute best and we bring the car home, we can be satisfied. Of course we want to deliver a strong result for the team after last weekend, and we will push hard to make everyone proud again."
Dani Sordo said: “I am really excited to be back in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car and especially looking forward to being in Canarias. My target is to have a good setup and fight for the victory or a podium — when I start a rally I always aim for the win, and being in Spain on tarmac makes that feel very achievable. I think we found a good setup and balance with the car at Rallye La Llana, and it was great to work in the Rally1 car with Cándido again. I think we are in a good place heading into the rally, and there is no substitute for the feeling you get in a Rally1 car. I don't remember a great deal about Canarias, but it was a legendary rally from the Spanish Championship. I do remember is that finding a good feeling was difficult, because the island is quite complicated; you can have rain on one stage and completely dry conditions on the next.”
