02/10/2007
RallyRACC, three days ahead: reconnaissance starts
The reconnaissance of the special stages by the participants of the 43 RallyRACC Catalunya-COSTA DAURADA, Rally de Espaņa, twelfth scoring round of the World Rally Championship to be staged from next Friday to Sunday (5 to 7 October), will be carried out today, Tuesday, October 2nd and tomorrow Wednesday, 3rd, from 08.00 a.m. to 19.00 p.m. Reconnaissance is not the same as testing, since it is carried out on roads open to usual traffic, at reduced speed, never in opposite direction to what is indicated and always respecting the Road Traffic Regulations as well as all regulations as regards safety and the rights of other road users. Drivers appointed by the FIA must fit a speed control system - GPS - in their reconnaissance cars.
These reconnaissance routes are strictly controlled by the organisation. At the start and finish of every stage, the officials in charge of controlling, take note of the vehicle taking part in reconnaissance and stamp the respective form to control every passage of participants through the timed stages. During the administrative checks, RACC Motor Sport has given all participants a sticker to be stuck onto the service vehicle which they will be using during reconnaissance and a form that will allow only two passages of every stage. According to the colour of this sticker, every car has to start reconnaissance with a group of certain stages, thus avoiding congestion. Reconnaissance has to be made with vehicles that comply with what is established by the FIA, basically standard model cars, without any external markings, suitable for travelling on open roads.
Today, Tuesday, drivers can cover the stages of Querol, El Montmell, El Lloar-La Figuera, Vilaplana, La Serra d'Almos and Colldejou, while the stages of Pratdip, Coll del Grau, Margalef-La Palma d'Ebre, Riudecanyes and the Shakedown stage, i.e. La Serra d'Almos in the opposite direction will be covered tomorrow. A chicane will be set-up on the El Montmell stage during the race to slow down the passage of the cars, which will be already installed and signposted during the reconnaissance, although participants will have to follow the safety instructions of the rally officials, since the stage, as well as the rest of the route, will be open to traffic during the reconnaissance.
As in all other races of the WRC, any driver not entered to this race is allowed to do the Rally RACC reconnaissance with a view to a possible participation in the World Championship in the coming years. In this case, the driver will have to pay the corresponding fee and follow the reconnaissance programme.
The Media Centre starts working tomorrow
This afternoon (Tuesday) the accreditation of the attending media representative will start and from 08h00 a.m. tomorrow, the Media Centre will start working, located in the halls of the Hotel PortAventura, close to the Headquarters. For more information, visit www.rallyracc.com.
|
