The third round of the FIA World Rally Championship presents a third unique challenge for the contenders as they head to the Americas for Rally Mexico (8-12 March). After the icy alpine roads of Rallye Monte-Carlo and the snow of Sweden, Mexico is more than just the first gravel round of the Championship. Temperatures hovering around 30°C add to the challenge, but it is the altitude that sets this event apart. With the route climbing to the highest point of the season at over 2,700 metres, engines struggle for power high in the Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato mountains, potentially forcing drivers to adapt their driving style to minimise the effect of the oxygen sapping elevations.
Rally Mexico has always been known for its innovative approach and this year promises yet more when the event roars into one of the world’s largest cities, the Ciudad de Mexico, for the first time. Zócalo square, which became internationally famous as the location for the amazing helicopter stunts which launched the James Bond movie ‘Spectre’ in 2015, will play host to a spectacular 1.57 kilometre super special stage, run twice, on Thursday evening before the crews head back to León for three days of action in the mountains.
Two events into the 2017 season and two different winners have already stood on the top step of the podium. With yet more uncertainly about how the all-new World Rally Cars will run in the heady heights of Mexico, the upcoming round of the series is sure to provide another fascinating chapter in what is developing into one of the most open seasons in decades.
The all-new Mexico City stage will be broadcast live, as well as SS11 (El Brinco) and the closing Power Stage.
ROUTE GRAPHICS
THE 2017 ROUTE
The route for this year’s event will be familiar, although with revisions to the configuration of stages, it will remain a busy recce for the crews. With the event headlined by the new street stage in Mexico City, the hugely popular and spectacular Guanajuato stage – which runs through the old mining tunnels in the UNESCO World Heritage town – has now moved to Friday evening. With a host of other short super special stages, Rally Mexico provides a potent mix of quick-fire action with some of the longest, most challenging, hottest and highest stages in the Championship.
WHAT WE SAID…
“Rally Mexico has always been at the forefront of innovation so I can’t say I was surprised when they came with the proposal to take the event to Mexico City,” said Jarmo Mahonen, FIA Rally Director. “Running a super special stage in one of the world’s largest cities, and in such a high profile location, is ground-breaking for the WRC and really takes our sport to the doorstep of the people. The Mexicans are such passionate people, we’ve seen so much of that in the WRC already, but I think the atmosphere, number of spectators, images and spectacle is going to be on another level again; something very special.”
RALLY DATA
| Total distance: Stage distance: Number of stages: |
897.90 km 369.03 km (41%) 19 |
MEDIA ACCREDITATION
The Accreditation Centre is located in the Media Centre at Rally Campus, Blvd. Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Esq. Blvd. Francisco Villa, León. The opening hours are:
| Tuesday 7 March Wednesday 8 March Thursday 9 March |
14:00 – 18:00 hrs 08:00 – 18:00 hrs 08:00 – 18:00 hrs 10:00 – 18:00 hrs (Mexico City, on request) |
RALLY MEXICO TIMETABLE AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES ORGANISED BY THE FIA
| Wednesday 8 March Mandatory media safety briefing, photographers’ room, Rally Campus Shakedown (P1 drivers) Shakedown (Priority drivers) ‘Meet the Crews’, Service Park, Rally Campus Thursday 9 March Friday 10 March Saturday 11 March Sunday 12 March |
12:00 hrs
16:00-17:30 hrs 12:00 hrs 14:21 hrs 21:04 hrs During the 45′ service 12:38 hrs 18:57 hrs During the 45′ service 11:23 hrs |
FIA PRESS CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE
| Thursday 9 March
Sunday 12 February |
Benito Guerra, FIA WRC 2 Championship Eric Camilli, FIA WRC 2 Championship Kris Meeke, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT Dani Sordo, Hyundai Motorsport Sébastien Ogier, M-Sport World Rally Team Jari-Matti Latvala, Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT Winning FIA WRC 2 Championship crew |
MANUFACTURER ENTRIES, RALLY MEXICO
| M-Sport World Rally Team
Hyundai Motorsport Citroën Total Abu Dhabi Toyota GAZOO |
Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (#1) Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (#2) Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt (#3) Hayden Paddon / John Kennard (#4) Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle (#7) Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (#10) |
ADDITIONAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
Autograph Signing Session: On Friday and Saturday selected crews will be available for a 15 minute autograph session. This will take place in the service park during the end of day service at the teams’ service areas.
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS
The provisional classifications for all the WRC Championships can be found on the following link:
http://www.fia.com/events/world-rally-championship/season-2017/standings
STAGE CHART
Shortly after the finish of the event, a downloadable stage chart showing the progressive positions of the leading crews during the rally will be available. This is copyright free for editorial purposes and available at the following link:
http://www.fia.com/events/world-rally-championship/season-2017/stage-chart-14
Source : fia.com
Comments
