Having kicked off with Rallye Monte Carlo, the 2015 World Rally Championship (WRC) is underway, and now the countdown has started to the twelfth edition of Rally Guanajuato Corona, to be held March 5-8 in the state of Guanajuato.
As is tradition, Mexico will provide the first dirt road stages of the WRC in the municipalities of Leon, Silao and Guanajuato. The best drivers in the category will arrive having already competed over asphalt (in Monte Carlo) and snow (in Sweden).
This season will see little change in the team lineups. Back for Volkswagen is two-time champion Sébastien Ogier, who will be joined by Finn Jari-Matti Latvala and Norway’s Andreas Mikkelsen. Citroën are bringing back Brit Kris Meeke and Norwegian Mads Østberg, while Belgian Thierry Neuville is returning for Hyundai, who will be lining up Spanish driver Dani Sordo throughout the year, having dropped driver rotation this season.
Meanwhile, M-Sport will have Estonian Ott Tanak and Brit Elfyn Evans driving for them, though are also preparing a car for Pole Robert Kubica.
To make things that little more challenging this year, Organisers RallyMex have made changes to the route, though as ever with just one goal in mind: to provide the teams with a very compact rally, which they have achieved by including 395.21 km of special stages (or 40%) of a total 998.
The ceremonial start is once again set to take place at the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, a building built during the time of the Spanish viceroyalty, in what is still acknowledged as one of the best starts of the season.
The excitement will get underway at 7:09 pm on Thursday, March 5, when the first car sets off through the narrow tunnels of the state capital, which make up a 1.01 km street stage in which the slightest mistake could bring the driver’s hopes to an early end.
March 5 will also see the first of this year’s changes with the addition of two laps of the special 2.3 km circuit built at the Autódromo de León racetrack that will bring activities to a close on both Friday and the Saturday.
This year’s rally will consist of a total of 21 timed stages, including two newly reintroduced street stages in the city of León, to take place on Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7. Back too for a third year is the special El Brinco Power Stage on Sunday, March 8, when there will be extra points up for grabs and where the final kilometres of the 998 total will be driven, before the drivers head off to the Foro del Lago for the prize ceremony at León’s Explora park.