Canarias entry important for IRC title hopes, says Skoda UK

Skoda UK Motorsport team manager Pierfrancesco Zanchi has said entering Rally Islas Canarias later this month is important if Guy Wilks is going to maintain his bid for the Intercontinental Rally Challenge title.

Wilks is second in the IRC drivers’ standings after scoring a brace of podium finishes on last month’s double-header in South America. Earlier this week, his team confirmed it would be entering a Fabia S2000 for Wilks and regular co-driver Phil Pugh.

Zanchi said: "We have made a good start to the IRC and after three strong points-scoring finishes we are second in the drivers’ standings. When Rally Islas Canarias was announced as the fourth round of the series, we felt it important for us to contest it as it will enable us to try and maintain our strong championship position and stay in the game."