64 crews entered for the 55 RallyRACC

08/10/2019

• 11 vehicles in the WRC class and 28 in WRC2/R5
• Dani Sordo-Carlos del Barrio (Hyundai i20) again among the favourites
• 24 countries represented: 31 drivers or co-drivers are from Spain, 13 from France and 12 from Finland, Great Britain and Italy
• Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) and Sébastien Loeb (Hyundai), a fight that will provide for thrilling moments
• WRC leader, Ott Tänak (Toyota), ready to win his 7th rally in 2019
• 8 makes represented, the largest representation by Peugeot with 17 cars

Barcelona, 8 October 2019.– The 55 RallyRACC CATALUNYA-COSTA DAURADA, Rally de España 2019, penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship, to be staged from 24 to 27 October, has published its official entry list. 64 crews will be taking part in the event this year, including all favourites of the categories convened. Eleven of them are WRC cars and 28 are R5, which are those contesting the WRC2 Pro and WRC2 classes.

The drivers and co-drivers come from all over the world, representing 24 countries. The most represented country is Spain with 31 participants, followed by France (13), Finland, Great Britain and Italy (12), Portugal (9) and Belgium (5). Worth to be highlighted is the participation of several South American countries, such as Argentina (3), Mexico, Paraguay and Brazil (2), Bolivia and Chile (1). Russia, Ukraine and Japan, in addition to other European countries are represented as well. As regards the makes, the largest representation is of Peugeot (17 units), followed by Ford (15), Škoda (12), Citroën (6), Hyundai (5), Toyota and Volkswagen (4) and Renault (1).

As regards the sporting aspect, the quality of the entrants is exceptional in all of the championships convened. The highlight and the fight that is expected to be the most intense will be in the WRC class: Current World Champion and 3 times winner of the RallyRACC Sébastien Ogier (Citroën Total WRT), against the 9 times winner in Salou (the last one last year) and 9 times World Champion, Sébastien Loeb (Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT). Obviously all eyes will also have to be set on the current championship leader Ott Tänak (Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT), winner of 6 scoring rounds towards the championship so far, and without doubt the driver of the moment.

Since the world championship title has not been decided yet, both as regards drivers and manufacturers, the 55 RallyRACC takes on great significance, considering that after the Spanish round, there will only be Rally Australia left to compete. The works teams will be arriving in PortAventura World with 2 or 3 cars each: Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT (Dani Sordo, Thierry Neuville and Sébastien Loeb), Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT (Kris Meeke, Ott Tänak and Jari-Matti Latvala), Citroën Total WRT (Sébastien Ogier and Esapekka Lappi) and M-Sport Ford WRT (Teemu Suninen and Elfyn Evans).

Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio will be participating for the 17th consecutive time in the RallyRACC (7 of which Sordo finished on the podium but never as the winner). They are once again in the group of the great favourites and especially this season, since they took their second victory at the WRC event in Sardinia. On the other hand, it is important to highlight that the only already crowned World Champion, the WRC2 Pro driver, Kalle Rovanperä (Škoda Fabia R5) decided to take part in the Catalan event, just like the other three drivers who are behind him in the standings, still looking to clinch the two remaining places on the podium: Gus Greensmith (Ford Fiesta R5), Mads Østberg (Citroën C3 R5) and Jan Kopecky (Škoda Fabia R5).

The WRC2 entry list does also include all the favourites who are on the provisional top positions of the class, excepting Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta, who will be contesting the WRC class with a works Toyota Yaris. The fight for the places on the podium is expected to be intense between the Škoda Fabia R5 of Pierre-Louis Loubet, Benito Guerra, Nicolay Gryazin, Fabio Andolfi and Marco Bulacia; the Volkswagen Polo R5 of Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Ole Christian Veiby; the Ford Fiesta R5 of Adrien Fourmaux and Alberto Heller; the Hyundai i20 NG R5 of Rhys Yates and Simone Tempestini; and the Citroën C3 R5 of Éric Camilli and Guillaume de Mévius.

In any case, there could be a huge surprise in WRC2, considering the strong performance expected by three high-quality Spanish crews: José Antonio Suárez-Alberto Iglesias (Škoda Fabia R5), Nil Solans-Marc Martí (Volkswagen Polo R5) and the recently crowned Junior World Champions, Jan Solans-Mauro Barreiro (Ford Fiesta R5 Mk II).

The entry list is completed by the numerous participants of the Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica (Sports & You) and the Beca Júnior R2 (RFEdA), the leading entrants of which are Daniel Berdomás-David Rivero and Josep Bassas-Axel Coronado.

Short schedule of the 55 RallyRACC
22 and 23 October – Reconnaissance of the stages
24 October – Shakedown (9.00h) and Ceremonial Start (19.00h)
25 October – Rally Day 1, gravel (from 8.00h to 19.35h)
26 October – Rally Day 2, tarmac (from 7.30h to 18.45h)
27 October – Rally Day 3 tarmac (from 6.45h to 13.26h)