We saw new faces, big moments as well as a number of stand-out performances. Now it’s time to vote for your star driver.
Introducing the nominees:
Nil Solans
Position: 1st overall
The odds were stacked against the Spaniard coming into this rally. Budget struggles prevented a pre-event test and, after missing the Azores Rallye, he knew he had to perform. And perform he did.
Set-up issues hampered Solans on Friday morning, but he got his head down and worked on improving things throughout the weekend, hardly putting a foot wrong in his Volkswagen Polo.
This victory wasn’t as emphatic as in Fafe, but it was certainly just as well-deserved.
Efrén Llarena
Position: 2nd overall
The pressure was on Llarena to maintain his winning form after the Azores Rallye and he dealt with it admirably.
It takes a lot of maturity to hold back from a victory fight and focus on bringing home points instead, but Llarena showed he has a champion’s mindset.
Friday’s SS2 win marked the first on asphalt for Team MRF Tyres in the ERC and the Spaniard now leads the championship heading to Poland.
Yoann Bonato
Position: 3rd overall
There was no shortage of funny quips when Bonato arrived at a stage end, and there was no shortage of pace either.
It was great to have the Citroën driver back on the FIA European Rally Championship stages and he put up a strong fight against Llarena right until the very end. Thankfully he’ll be back very soon for Rally Liepāja in July.
Enrique Cruz
Position: 4th overall
Cruz was the highest-placed Canary Islander and put up a strong fight against some of the best drivers in Europe.
The 36-year-old remained consistent from start to finish as well as claiming two well-deserved fastest times on Friday and Saturday. One more thing: his Fiesta Rally2 sounded epic as it popped and banged its way to fourth.
Pep Bassas
Position: 6th overall
It was a top weekend all-round for the youngster. He netted a personal best ERC result on only his second outing in the Škoda Fabia R5, with his times improving continually throughout the rally.
The cash-strapped Spaniard is definitely one to watch for the future and we can’t wait to see how he performs at round four in Poland.
Luis Monzón
Position: DNF
Come on…how could we forget? At the ripe old age of 56, Monzón drove like an absolute demon and a fairytale fourth Rally Islas Canarias win was on the cards.
He was 6.2sec clear of Solans before a screw - which had found its way into one of his Fabia’s tyres - ended play. It makes you wonder what could have been…
Laurent Pellier
Position: Junior ERC and ERC4 winner
After a mishap on Thursday evening’s superspecial stage dropped him well down the order, Pellier recovered with true class.
His Opel Corsa Rally4 was the quickest Junior ERC car on every stage from that moment on and victory over a charging Anthony Fotia in ERC4 was the icing on the cake. Impressive.
Paulo Soria
Position: Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT winner
Asphalt, by Soria’s own admission, is not his favourite surface. That makes his start to finish lead in the one-make category all the more impressive.
The Argentine holds a commanding lead in the championship with three rounds to go after making the perfect start to his season.
Finland
Italy
Hungary