wagon dec
Member Number 257
http://www.rallymexico.com
Route
•Based in the country’s fifth largest city of León, 400km north-west of Mexico City.
•Covers familiar territory in the Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato mountains, north and east of León.
•Begins on Thursday night with the start and opening test in picturesque Guanajuato.
•Friday’s leg returns to the area for three dirt tests.
•The final two days are closer to León and the last leg re-uses some roads from Saturday.
Challenge
•Drivers must remember how to master gravel roads. It’s the first of six consecutive dirt rounds and the first hot gravel event since Australia last September.
•Temperatures nearing 30°C put stress on engines and transmissions.
•The route climbs to the season’s highest point at 2737m. Engines struggle to breathe in the thin air and lose 20 per cent power.
•Less power means mistakes are punished more severely as accelerating back to top speed takes longer.
•Concrete culverts across the roads can inflict big damage.
Car spec
•Normal gravel suspension – the roads are not rough but become rutted during the second pass.
•Only hard compound tyres are used due to high temperatures and hard-packed roads.
History
•First held in 1979, the rally moved to León in 1998 and joined WRC in 2004.
•The 2007 rally was the shortest in WRC history with a total distance of less than 850km. It still included more than 366km of stages and more than 43 per cent was competitive.
•Sébastien Loeb scored six consecutive wins between 2006 and 2012 (the rally was absent in 2009 due to rotation).
What’s new for 2015
•Thursday night’s curtain-raiser in Guanajuato is followed by tests at León’s race circuit, a popular viewing spot for fans.
•A short street stage close to the service park returns to an early afternoon slot on Friday and Saturday.
Don’t miss
•The colourful ceremonial start in Guanajuato, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Music, dancing and a party atmosphere create one of the season’s highlights and the opening stage through former mining tunnels begins there and then. Get there early – the crowds are huge!
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