A challenge for equipment and riders. The stage of the World Rally Championship begins in Mexico / Article

IN SHORT:

• Rally Mexico has returned to the WRC calendar after a 2-year absence.
• The heat, dust and hilly terrain are expected to test the skills of the machinery and riders.
• This time, the athletes are waiting for 23 speed stages in a total distance of more than 320 kilometers.
• This type of racer has a difficult task for drivers – clearing roads from slippery gravel.
• Estonian rally driver Ots Tanak, as the current season leader, will go first on the track.
• The Mexican rally record holder Sébastien Ogier will also start.

Hot, dusty and mountainous

WRC organizers have described this rally simply – it is hot, dusty and high mountains. The rally route leads in some places to an altitude of more than 2700 meters above sea level. At this altitude, car engines could face difficulties due to the “thin” air. Also, the predicted heat of almost 30 degrees usually makes it difficult for crews and equipment to interact.

However, the hybrid cars of the new generation “Rally1” class are less affected by the lack of air, so the organizers of the championship allow that the fastest Mexican rally so far could be expected.

The name of the Mexican Rally has been associated with the WRC since 2004. With exceptions in 2009, as well as in the past two seasons, the stage has returned to circulation. Until Sunday, Leon – the largest city in the state of Guanajuato – will become the home of the world’s fastest rally riders in Mexico. This time, the athletes are waiting for 23 speed stages in a total distance of more than 320 kilometers (km). The competition with the first two “dopes” will start early Friday morning Latvian time.

Mexico WRC practice sessions

Road cleaning is a difficult task for drivers

In rallies of this type, where the competition takes place on slippery gravel roads, the first crews on the track have a difficult task – the so-called “road cleaning”. Namely, with each next car in the speed stage, the road surface becomes cleaner and faster, because the previous crews cleaned the track from the slippery gravel surface.

This time, the Estonian driver Otas Tanakas (“M-Sport Ford”), who takes the leading position in the season’s standings, will be the first to start cleaning the roads. Tanak has started the new season with a solid performance after reuniting with the “M-Sport Ford” team, finishing in 5th place in the Monte Carlo asphalt rally, which was so inconvenient for him, and winning the snowy stage in Sweden.

However, a good rally driver has to deal with road cleaning quite often during his career. When starting first, there is also a positive in such races – the dust left in the air by the previous car does not interfere. Experience will definitely help Tanaka – out of 10 starts in Mexico, he has finished second twice.

However, the Estonian repeatedly emphasized before the competition that this is his first gravel rally with the new “Ford Puma” car, so there is still a lot of work ahead to adapt to the car, the weather, and the road surface. “I have driven a Ford Puma on gravel roads, but this will be the first time in a gravel rally. You will have to adapt to the new one very quickly,” Tanak told the motorsport blog “Dirtfish”.

2022 world champion Kalle Rovanpera (Toyota Gazoo Racing) and five-time world vice-champion Thierry Neville (Hyundai Shell Mobis), who occupy second and third place respectively in the season standings, will not escape road cleaning at least until Saturday.

However, a different picture unfolds a little further down the start list. A good starting position and rich experience make the Frenchman Sébastien Ogier (“Toyota Gazoo Racing”) one of the favorites to win the Mexico Rally. Eight-time world champion Ogier no longer competes at all stages of the season, but when he does, his name is always mentioned in the battle for the top step of the podium.

Ogier was also successful in Mexico, winning this rally six times. He, along with his legendary compatriot Sebastien Loeb, are the only rally drivers who have won multiple times in Mexico; both have the same number of Mexican stage trophies.

In addition to the main favorites, each of the factory teams also took other athletes to Mexico. Along with Rovanper and Ogier, the “Toyota Gazoo Racing” team will also be supplemented by British Elfin Evans, who occupies the fourth position in the season standings. Meanwhile, the Japanese Takamoto Katsuta will not participate in the team scoring for Toyota at this stage, but will start with the Toyota Yaris GR car prepared by it.

In addition to Tanak, French rally driver Pierre-Louis Loubet and Greek Jordan Serderidis will also drive under the M-Sport Ford flag. On the other hand, experienced Spanish driver Dani Sordo and rookie Esapeka Lapi from Finland will join the leader Neville as part of the “Hyundai Shell Mobis” team.

It should be mentioned that two pilots – Rovanpera and Lapi – showed the fastest time in training runs, setting identical times.

Which athlete will receive the cowboy boots, which are traditionally given to the winner of the Mexican Rally, and the sombrero hat will be determined on Sunday evening Latvian time.

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