The itinerary of the 48 RallyRACC Catalunya-COSTA DAURADA presented today

(16/05/2012)

Presentación itinerario RallyRACC Catalunya-COSTA DAURADA 2012

The mixed gravel-asphalt itinerary on one of the rally days will be kept for the 2012 edition of the RallyRACC, last scoring round of the World Rally Championship, to be held from 8 to 11 November. This special feature marked a new beginning when it was introduced two seasons ago and 2012 is the year of consolidation of this idea.

The presentation of the itinerary at the Tarragona County Council was atended by: Albert Batet, President of the Tourism Board of the Tarragona County Council; Pere Granados, Mayor of Salou; Mercedes de Pablo, General Manager of the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of Tarragona; Fernando Aldecoa, PortAventura General Manager; Enric Cucurella, RACC Vice-president; and Aman Barfull, Director of the RACC Sports Area and Clerk of the Course of the RallyRACC, who was in charge of presenting the novelties in the route of this new edition which is underway.

Based on everything learned so far, the RACC is perfectioning the initiative of a mixed day in an asphalt rally, boosting all those points that proved to be strong and including changes wherever they were needed. Thus, the first day of the race (9 November) will continue to be mixed but with an increased gravel part, with two new stages and longer gravel sections in the other two stages that make up the day. The other two days of the race (10 and 11 November) will be run on asphalt only.

The shakedown stage, which due to the fact of the rally starting on gravel, will be a qualifying stage, will be run in the area called Emprius de Salou, with 2.940 mixed km (970 metres gravel and 1,970 metres asphalt), large parking areas and excellent views for the public. This year, the drivers will have the chance to choose their start positions for the rally depending on the time set during this new qualifying stage.

Unanimously considered as an extremely selective race in its two latest editions, the 48 RallyRACC will be the final celebration of the 2012 World Rally Championship, and the closing round for all of the titles at stake: drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers/teams, SWRC (Super 2000), PWRC (Production) and WRC Academy, in addition to the Rally Class single-make title, thus being the only event to gather so many scoring options in the calendar. This will be the eighth consecutive time that the Spanish event of the WRC will be run completely at the Costa Daurada, with nerve centres in Salou and the PortAventura theme park.

The 48 RallyRACC in figures
Friday, 9 November: 6 stages (150.22 km timed); 547.65 km total route (27.42%)
Saturday, 10 November: 6 stages (161.30 km timed); 562.95 km total route (28.65%)
Sunday, 11 November: 6 stages (93.88 km timed); 364.83 km total route (25.73%)
Total: 18 stages (405.40 km timed); 1,475.43 km total route (27.47%)

PortAventura, the perfect location for the service park
The facilities next to the PortAventura theme park will once again be the best possible nerve centre for the 48 RallyRACC Catalunya-COSTA DAURADA, clearly one of the best locations of the World Championship. The large central car park will be for another year holding the Service Park and the commercial area. The PortAventura Convention Centre will serve for the third year as Rally Headquarters including race direction, race control and race monitoring, as well as the media centre and other services; while the Hotel Caribe Resort, will serve as accommodation for organization staff and participants.

Salou, in addition to being host to the qualifying stage and also to one of the timed stages of the race, will be the venue of the rally finish. Passeig de Jaume I will hold the village of the race, turning the large promenade into an attractive motor sport commercial and leisure avenue during the four days of the event.

www.rallyracc.com: A growing window
The official website of the Spanish Rally (www.rallyracc.com) is still the event's most important information window to the world. Fans can find updated information about the next edition of the Tarragona based event, but also about the events in the fourteen previous years (since 1988), thus being an important tool for the dissemination of the rally and also for the World Championship, as it is updated almost daily including news about the WRC and all of its scoring rounds.

@rallyRACC: The official Twitter channel
The official information channel of the Spanish event of the World Rally Championship in Twitter will start providing contents after the publication of Rally Guide 1, i.e. in the first week of July. From July to October, @rallyRACC will offer all news generated and from November onwards, an exhaustive follow-up of the latest news on the previous days as well as during the event. Just like in 2011, followers will be able to participate using the official hashtag of the event, #rallyRACC, where they will be offered the chance to take part in contests and win prizes.

2012 Sponsors
The RallyRACC 2012, organised by the RACC, is backed by the best technical and human infrastructure and the collaboration of companies and bodies that make its financing possible. The event has a wide institutional support as well as the essential backing of the territory, especially of the Tarragona County Council, the Tarragona-Costa Daurada Tourism Board, Salou, PortAventura and the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of Tarragona, as well as the support of the Catalan Tourism Agency through their brand Catalunya, movistar, Europcar and SEAT (official car).