The 42nd edition of the Rally Islas Canarias was presented on Tuesday on the same place, the AC Hotel Gran Canaria, where on 3, 4 and 5 May will host the headquarter center of this FIA European Rally Championship. As every year, this event has brought together a broad institutional and business representation of the canarian society. That power of summons is only the reflection ot the specific weight that this event has acquired throughout its more than forty years of history.

Antonio Morales, president of Cabildo de Gran Canaria, wanted to highlight that the island has settled as an iconic event whitin the FIA European Rally Championship calendar. “This rally contributes to the fact that this brand of Gran Canaria as a European Sports Island transcends our borders and becomes a benchmark for physical activity and social cohesion through sports. It also means an extraordinary projection of the island, of our climate and our landscapes. It generates productive economy and, to finish, it is an example of how public and private initiative can join forces to carry out an event of these characteristics. You can not build the future of a territory without everyone's participation and this rally makes this collaboration visible”, said Morales.

Jean-Baptiste Ley, general coordinator of Eurosport, reviewed the new approach that the FIA ERC acquired last year with a calendar that concentrates the best eight rallies and was confident that there will be "no less than 25 R5 vehicles" in this second round of the season. Ley recalled that more and more brands that have been involved in the European Rally Championship thus raising the level of the championship. He also pointed out that one of the priorities of the ERC is, from 2017, to give opportunities to young drivers through categories such as the ERC Junior U27 and U28. Finally, he highlighted the work that the organization has done in recent years, specially in security matters.

Manuel Aviñó, president of the Royal Spanish Federation, stressed that the last edition of the Rally Islas Canarias was the best valued in the Spanish Rally Championship. In addition, he wished "all the luck of the world to the Organizing Committee so that this edition is even better than last year" before remembering that this season Efrén Llarena is participating in the ERC Junior U27 after winning in 2017 the Beca Junior R2.