Rally Fever in Valsequillo: When Fans Book Their Holidays a Year in Advance

Scaffolding, cooler, a whole weekend

In Valsequillo, people talk about the rally the way elsewhere they talk about the village fair — only with more seriousness. This mountain town 25 kilometres south of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is this year, for the second time, a stage on the World Rally Championship. And for many residents, the preparations don't begin in the week before the event, but twelve months in advance — in the holiday-leave request handed to their employer.

The daily Canarias7 ran a portrait this morning of a four-man fan squad from the town: Jonathan, his father Jorge, plus friends Toni and Samuel. They booked their days off right after the end of last year's edition to make sure they could attend the full run of the 50th Rally Islas Canarias from 23 to 26 April. Their reasoning, in a single sentence: watching the best drivers and cars in the world tearing through the corners of their own village is something money can't buy.

The group's plan is meticulous. Thursday evening: opening with the special stage BP Ultimate — Circuito Islas Canarias at the Estadio de Gran Canaria, tickets already in hand. Overnight stop in San Mateo — reason: Friday morning at 9:23 and afternoon at 15:59 the cars roar twice through the Tejeda–San Mateo stage. Saturday then by motorbike to the south, to Maspalomas, runs at 8:20 and 14:50. The highlight follows on Sunday: the Ingenio–Valsequillo stage, likely decisive for the final standings. Jonathan and his friends will watch it from a scaffolding rigged up on a van, parked in Las Vegas, a hamlet of Valsequillo. Plus a cooler full of ice, drinks, several kilos of meat on the grill. Anyone passing by is welcome to join.

The 50th edition — with world champions and a local hero

The Rally Islas Canarias runs for the second time this year as a full round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) — a status it secured with its 2025 debut. The entry list carries names you normally only hear from Finland or Monte Carlo: eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier (Toyota), Belgian front-runner Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), and Dani Sordo, the Cantabrian crowd favourite, who already ran pre-event tests in Valsequillo last week. For many of those in the portrait, that was an "appetiser" for the real week ahead.

And in the middle of it all: Pedro Peñate. Dakar veteran from Valsequillo, who earlier this spring became the first Spaniard ever to finish in every category of the Rally Dakar. He now makes his WRC debut at the wheel of a Renault Clio Rally5 — alongside Fátima Toledo, the first woman from La Palma to compete in the World Rally Championship. Peñate is the first son of Valsequillo to race at WRC level; the town's mayor Juan Carlos Atta speaks of "tremendous pride for the whole municipality". When the cars whistle through Las Vegas, a few hoarse shouts between Ogier and Neuville will go to one of their own.

Why it matters beyond Valsequillo

Four friends with a scaffold and a pile of grilled meat are an anecdote on their own. What the scene shows goes further: the Rally Islas Canarias has, in a short time, moved from regional sporting highlight to an identity anchor for an entire community. In Valsequillo, the rally week is now treated the way other towns treat their patron saint's day — with holiday requests, whole families in attendance, and a self-confidence no tourism office could have engineered.

For visitors who want to watch this weekend: the Ingenio–Valsequillo stage on Sunday is the classic viewpoint — if you haven't brought your own scaffold, the natural slopes along the GC-41 offer plenty of vantage points. Arrive early, bring water, don't wear white shoes.

The original portrait of Jonathan, Jorge, Toni and Samuel is by David Rodríguez Medina in Canarias7 (edition of 20 April 2026). CITA News has retold scenes, schedules and programme details in its own words. Driver and entry information: the official organiser's entry list and WRC.com.