Rally stage cancelled due to illegal parking

A car goes round the corner in front of fans at the Rally Islas Canarias — Photo: © IMAGO

Racing News

Rally stage cancelled due to illegal parking

Illegally parked cars caused a rally stage to be cancelled

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 25 April 2026 08:57 Updated: 17:56

Stage Three at the Rally Islas Canarias in Spain was cancelled after more than 100 cars from visitors were found to be illegally parked.

The long-running event is scheduled for April 23 through 26, marking the 50th anniversary of the World Rally Championship showdown.

Based in capital of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the event features 18 stages and over 300km across the island. Thus far, reigning world rally champion Sebastien Ogier has grabbed the lead of the Rally Islas Canarias; but it was soon announced one of the early stages were cancelled.

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Stage Three was interrupted because 100 spectator vehicles were found illegally parked in a protected area near SS3 Tejeda - San Mateo 1.

A statement from the FIA read: "Due to more than 100 spectator vehicles being found illegally parked within a protected area near SS3, the Clerk of the Course was forced to cancel the stage in order to allow for the removal of the vehicles from the area.

"Spectators are urged to remove their vehicles from the area immediately and are reminded to only park in officially designated parking zones for the remainder of the event."

Rally Islas Canarias as it stands (Stage Four)

Ogier currently leads Stage Four in the Toyota ahead of Finn Sami Pajari in second and British driver Elfyn Evans in third.

Takamoto Katsuta has dropped down to fifth in the No. 18 Toyota, despite taking the lead after Thursday evening’s opening super special.

2026 World Rally Championship calendar

2026 World Rally Championship Schedule
Race	Date
Rallye Monte-Carlo	22-25 January
Rally Sweden	12-15 February
Safari Rally Kenya	12-15 March
Croatia Rally	10-12 April
Rally Islas Canarias	23-26 April
Rally de Portugal	7-10 May
Rally Japan	28-31 May
Acropolis Rally Greece	25-28 June
Rally Estonia	16-19 July
Rally Finland	30 July-2 August
Rally del Paraguay	27-30 August
Rally Chile	10-13 September
Rally Italia Sardegna	1-4 October
Rally Saudi Arabia	11-14 November