The Catalan event, the last of the RACE Championship of Alternative Energies, will resolve the categories of Electric and Plug-in Hybrids following the victories of Fernández and Aparicio in the Canaries.
The Eco Rally Catalunya will close the season of the RACE Championship of Alternative Energies with two titles still to be decided. The Catalan event will be the final date on the calendar after the Ecorally de Canarias, held on October 9 and 10 in Gran Canaria, left the categories of Electric and Plug-in Hybrids open, as reported by the specialised media autohebdosport.com.
The fifth event of the season, the second island event of the year, took place under changing weather conditions and featured two stages of different profiles: a night stage on Friday and a daytime stage on Saturday. The combination of regularity and efficiency once again marked the differences in the combined classification.
In Hybrids, the Madrilenian Jorge Prado secured the drivers' title with his third victory of the season, this time behind the wheel of a Toyota Aygo Hybrid with Hugo García as co-driver. Prado arrived in the Canaries knowing that second place was enough to mathematically become champion, but his performance in efficiency allowed him to win the event and confirm the title without waiting for the last event.
Raquel Muñoz and Manuel Soler finished second with their Toyota Yaris after winning in regularity. The result consolidated the Castellonense in second place among drivers and brought Soler closer to the lead in the co-drivers' championship, which remains open for the calendar's conclusion.
In Electric, the victory of the Galicians Shirley and 'Cubi' Fernández with a Hyundai Inster narrowed the gap with the leader, the Czech Michal Zdarsky, who competes with a Hyundai Ioniq alongside Petr Timura. The Fernández duo dominated the regularity from start to finish and achieved a sufficient lead to win in the combined standings, despite their rivals recording better efficiency. The title will be decided at the Eco Rally Catalunya.
Completing the podium in the Canaries were Germán Hiller and Cristian Ortiz with an Opel Corsa, the best local finishers. They were followed by two teams from the Club Deportivo Azuatil, the organising team: Sergio Medina and Noelia Vega finished fourth with a Kia EV4, while Wenceslao Mendoza and José Rosario came fifth with a Renault 5 E-Tech. José Sosa and Felipe Bordón placed their Opel Mokka in sixth place, ahead of Valerio Díaz and Ángela Chirino, who achieved first place in efficiency with a Renault 4 E-Tech although they finished seventh in the combined standings.
In Plug-in Hybrids, Laura Aparicio and Daniel Pizarro won with their Toyota C-HR in a race marked by the passing of Jorge Garcés, Aparicio's co-driver during the first half of the year, just before the competition. The driver dedicated the victory to his memory, and the start ceremony included a minute of silence.
The Gran Canarian Toni Luján, accompanied by the Cantabrian Óscar Lasarte in a Jaecoo 7, finished second in his home event and secured the TR+, a points contribution that allowed him to maintain the overall lead. The reigning champion, Ángel Santos, completed the podium alongside David Sánchez with a Toyota RAV4. Ricardo González and José Manuel Salas, winners in A Coruña, finished fourth with their Kia Sportage PHEV after surpassing Teo Vega and Juan Carlos de Felipe, who came fifth with a Renault Rafale.
With the Hybrids title already in Prado's hands, the Eco Rally Catalunya will concentrate the battle for the Electric and Plug-in Hybrids championships. The Catalan event will be the last opportunity for the Fernández and Aparicio to confirm their chances in a season that will be decided on Catalan soil.
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