53 RallyRACC: Four intense days of rally

19/06/2017

With a stage on mixed surface and another two on tarmac, the last of them without intermediate service, the 53 RallyRACC CATALUNYA-COSTA DAURADA, Rally de España 2017, surely will be a difficult and exclusive rally full of novelties. 

Day 0, Thursday 5: Shakedown and start in Salou
The first Day of the 53 Rally RACC will be a true "Day 0" of the race. In the morning there will be the usual shakedown stage (a stage to finish setting up the vehicles), again on the mixed surface of the area known as Emprius in Salou: 2.97 km on which teams and drivers, based in the PortAventura World service park, will fine tune the settings of their cars during several passages.

The cars will remain the rest of the day at the PortAventura World service park to proceed at 20.00h to the official start ceremony in Salou, looking for the media and popular impact implied in the parade of the participants along the streets of Salou.

Day 1, Friday, 6 October: The only mixed day of the WRC
The gravel or mixed stages of the first race day will remain the same as in last year's edition. The mixed stage 'Terra Alta' will continue to be a long one (38.95 km), thus allowing to watch the cars arriving at full speed in Vilalba dels Arcs, to face the rest of the stage after a tight bend. This provides for the possibility of setting up a large and safe spectator area with an extraordinary visibility. The remaining two stages of the day, all of them on gravel and to be covered twice, just like 'Terra Alta', were already raced last year: 'Caseres' (12.50 km) and 'Bot' (6.50 km), completing the total 115.90 timed km to be covered on that day.

The configuration of the stages that make up this day has been kept identical, considering that their design and the schedule minimise the impact of dust on the suspensions after the passage of the participants. The cars will have a 30' service at PortAventura World, between passages, in addition to two facilities for refuelling (one in the morning and one in the afternoon).

08:15h - Start from PortAventura World
09:53h - SS1 'Caseres' (12.50 km, gravel)
10:21h - SS2 'Bot' (6.50 km, gravel)
10:56h - SS3 'Terra Alta' (38.95 km, mixed)
12:51h - Regrouping (20') and service (30') in PortAventura World
15:19h - SS4 'Caseres' (12.50 km, gravel)
15:47h - SS5 'Bot' (6.50 km, gravel)
16:22h - SS6 'Terra Alta' (38.95 km, mixed)
18:22h - Podium in Salou and parc fermé in PortAventura World (10')
18:32h - Service park in PortAventura World (1h.15')
19:47h - Parc fermé in PortAventura World

Day 2, Saturday, 7 October: Demanding tarmac with novelties
Saturday and Sunday are the tarmac days, this time with novelties included in both days. On Saturday, there will be three special stages covered twice: 'El Montmell' (24.40 km), 'El Pont d'Armentera' (21.29 km) and 'Savallà' (14.12 km), and a fourth will be added, namely, 'Salou' (2.24 km), the urban stage, that will be almost identical to the last two years, as the closing stage of the day.

'El Montmell' is the same stage as in 2016 with 260 metres that have been added at the end. The second passage of this stage will be broadcasted live by the TV channels that have received the rights by the promoter. The stage named 'El Pont d'Armentera' is new and corresponds to the Querol stage from 2016 but raced in opposite direction. The third stage is called 'Savallà' and is completely new, located nearby Santa Coloma de Queralt and running between Rauric and Conesa. A 30-minute service in PortAventura World will allow participants to set-up their vehicles anew in order to get ready to face the loop for a second time. Both in the morning and in the afternoon, there will be a refuelling facility in Santa Coloma de Queralt. The timed kilometres of that day will be 121.86 km.

06:45h - Start from PortAventura World
08:00h - SS7 'El Montmell' (24.40 km)
09:07h - SS8 'El Pont d'Armentera' (21.29 km) *
09:54h - SS9 'Savallà' (14.12 km) *
11:20h - Regrouping in PortAventura World (15')
11:35h - Service in PortAventura World (30')
13:08h - SS10 'El Montmell' (24.40 km) (live TV)
14:15h - SS11 'El Pont d'Armentera' (21.29 km) *
15:02h - SS12 'Savallà' (14.12 km) *
16:37h - Regrouping in Salou (20')
17:00h - SS13 'Salou' (2.24 km)
17:20h - Parc fermé in PortAventura World (10')
17:30h - Service park in PortAventura World (45')
18:15h - Parc fermé in PortAventura World
(*) New stages in 2017

Day 3, Sunday 8 October: Six stages, no service
Sunday won't be an easy day either. The day is structured around three stages (one more than last year), with two passages, finishing with the Power Stage that will be broadcasted live around noon. The route has been made harder, slightly increasing the speed and eliminating the service, thus providing the day with a special difficulty, as any problem can turn out to be definitive. The stages to be covered are 'L'Albiol' (6.28 km), a section of the Vilaplana stage from 2016 but run in opposite direction; 'Riudecanyes' (16.35 km), with an identical configuration as in 2013; and 'Santa Marina' (14.50 km), a special that was already raced like this in 2012 but with additional 800 metres at the end. The second passage of 'Santa Marina' will give the five fastest drivers extra points, which will be very welcomed by those drivers fighting for the world championship title. This true sprint day will cover 74.26 km, a dozen more than last year, but without service of any type, although with a refuelling point in Mont-roig del Camp.

It should be highlighted that 'Santa Marina', in its two passages, will be broadcasted live by the TV holding broadcasting rights.

06:00h - Start from PortAventura World
07:00h - SS14 'L'Albiol' (6.28 km) *
07:38h - SS15 'Riudecanyes' (16.35 km) *
08:09h - Regrouping in Mont-roig del Camp (10')
08:38h - SS16 'Santa Marina' (14.50 km) * (live TV)
10:14h - SS17 'L'Albiol' (6.28 km) *
10:53h - SS18 'Riudecanyes' (16.35 km) *
11:24h - Regrouping in Mont-roig del Camp (35')
12:18h - SS19 'Santa Marina' (14.50 km), Power Stage * (live TV)
13:38h - Parc Fermé and Service Park in PortAventura World (3'+10')
13:51h - Finish Podium in Salou
(*) New stages in 2017