The Rally Islas Canarias, known originally as the Rally El Corte Inglés is an international

rally racing Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally A pep rally or pep assembly is a gathering of people, typically students ...

event based on the Spanish island of

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. The event has been a long running round of the

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champions ...

, the

Spanish Rally Championship The Spanish Rally Championship is the most important rally championship in Spain. It was established in 1956. Champions ;Driver Championship External links {{Rally championships Rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demon ...

and the Canary Islands Rally Championship. It has also in the recent past been a round of the

Intercontinental Rally Challenge The Intercontinental Rally Challenge was an FIA-sanctioned rallying series organised by SRW Events and Eurosport Events, and aimed to "give new opportunities to young or amateur rally drivers competing in recognised regional and international ral ...

, the European Rally Cup South and the European Rally Cup West. The rally is a tarmac rally event and has been since inception. First run in 1977 the rally was quickly popular for its location and climate as well as the Canary Islands reputation as a tourist destination. So much so that despite its isolated location, over 100 kilometres from the coast of

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...

, it has since 1979 been a part of Spain's national championship and has been an international event since 1982 when it was first included in the European Rally Championship. The events success could also be attributed to the similar and older Portuguese events the

Rali Vinho da Madeira The Rali Vinho da Madeira is a tarmac rally held in Madeira Island, Portugal, and it is the biggest annual sporting event of the island, bringing thousands of people into the roads to watch the drivers compete through the hilly terrain and the natur ...

held on the island of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

400 km to the north and

Rallye Açores The Rallye Açores, known originally as the Volta à Ilha de São Miguel is an international rally racing event based on the Portuguese island of São Miguel Island in the Azores. The event has been a long running round of the European Rally Cham ...

which is based on the island of

São Miguel Island São Miguel Island (; Portuguese language, Portuguese for "Saint Michael"), nicknamed "The Green Island" (''Ilha Verde''), is the largest and most populous island in the Portugal, Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The island covers and has a ...

which is on the mid-Atlantic ridge. In keeping with its importance as a Spanish event, Spanish drivers have dominated. Medardo Pérez won the first two events driving a BMW. Spain's world champion,

Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz may refer to: People * Carlos Sainz Sr. (born 1962), Spanish rally driver world champion, father of Jr. * Carlos Sainz Jr. (born 1994), Spanish Formula One driver, son of Sr. Other uses * '' Carlos Sainz: World Rally Championship'', 1 ...

won the event in five consecutive years from 1985-1989 in a variety of cars. Fellow Spaniards

Jesús Puras Jesús Puras Vidal de la Peña (born March 16 1963), also known as 'Chus Puras', is a Spanish rally driver active in the World Rally Championship from 1991 to 2002. Puras was well known for his blistering performances on tarmac rallies. Career ...

and

Luis Monzón Luis Alberto Monzón León (born 26 May 1970 in Asunción) is a retired football midfielder from Paraguay. Club career Monzón started his career in the youth divisions of Olimpia and made his professional debut at the age of 16. He was a key ...

have taken three wins as has Czech driver

Jan Kopecký Jan Kopecký (born January 28, 1982) is a professional rally driver from Czech Republic who drives for Škoda Motorsport. He is the 2013 ERC champion, 2018 WRC-2 champion as well as a multiple champion of the Czech Rally Championship Career ...

. The tarmac nature of the event has led to a number of non-traditional rally cars winning the event with

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and origin ...

taking five victories. In the 1990s the World Two Litre Kit Cars were able to upset the 4WD turbo cars, much as they were able to on similar events in the World Championship like the

Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was the French round of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season until 2008, was part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge from 2011 to 2012, an ...

. The rally joined the European Championship in 1982 and maintained a calendar position until 2004 when it was demoted to the European Rally Cup West. In 2006 it moved from the West region to the South. It returned to the West region in 2007 before shifting to the Rally Cup South permanently in 2008. In 2010 the rally joined the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, replacing the Rally Príncipe de Asturias. It stayed on the calendar until the IRC folded in 2012. For the 2013 season its European status was promoted back into the European Rally Championship, again replacing Rally Príncipe de Asturias.

List of winners

Sourced in part from:

References

External links

Official websiteEuropean Rally Championship
{{Gran Canaria Motorsport in Africa Rally competitions in Spain Islas Canarias Sport in Gran Canaria