On to the third round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with plenty of heart and at full throttle – with Corazón and Karacho. When the Volkswagen team lines up at its first gravel rally of the year, in Mexico from 05 to 08 March, it will also face another major challenge: high altitude, with sections of the route as high as 2,752 metres above sea level.
The Volkswagen pairings of Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N) and Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) come into the unique event, which opens in the silver mining town of Guanajuato, as first, second and fourth in the World Championship standings.
“The Rally Mexico represents the first gravel rally of the year. This means that the drivers and technicians must once again adapt to completely different conditions to the ones they faced at the Rally Monte Carlo and most recently in Sweden,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. “Then there are the special stages, which really hit the heights – higher than anywhere else in the world of rallying. Coming just two weeks after the Rally Sweden, it is time to flip the switch as we strive to tame the unique conditions in Mexico – something we will need a lot of heart to achieve. As well as the drivers, the technology is also under a lot of pressure in Mexico. We have to find the best possible way to compensate for the thin air at such high altitude, as well as adapting the set-up for the gravel surfaces. However, we are confident that we can pull this off, as we have always enjoyed good results in Mexico in the past. No question: we want to win there again this year.”
The only way is up, 21 times – from 1,800 to 2,752 metres above sea level
It is enough to bring any World Rally Car to its knees: the entire Rally Mexico takes place higher up than anything the rally cars, which generate up to 318 hp, are used to facing in Europe. Whereas the highest point in the European season is 1,608 metres above sea level – on the “La Bollène-Vésubie–Sospel” special stage at the Rally Monte Carlo – the lowest point of the Rally Mexico is at exactly 1,800 metres above sea level.
In 2015, the rally’s 21 special stages are located around the geographical centre of Mexico. Thanks to a compact route, all of the stages will take place close to the service park in León. These include genuine challenges like the “roof” of the Rally Mexico – “El Chocolate”, which climbs to 2,752 metres above sea level and the highest point in the WRC season. Then there is the longest special stage of the season yet: the 55.82-kilometre “Guanojuatito”. They are complimented by more highlights and spectator magnets: it all kicks off on Thursday evening with the famous “Street Stage Guanajuato” in the heart of the capital of the host state. The 72,000 residents will be joined by swathes of rally fans in their thousands, lining the 1.01-kilometre street circuit through the tunnel, around roundabouts and down urban canyons..