02/09/2009
Pirelli Star Driver and Producción Rally Racing, the leading characters at the 45 RallyRACC

The first race-day of the 45 RallyRACC Catalunya–COSTA DAURADA, Rally de España, penultimate round of the 2009 World Rally Championship will start in exactly one month, on October 2nd. After the Australia event, that will be held this weekend, the WRC will get ready to face the second and last asphalt rally of the season which will probably move the chances for the title towards one of the two candidates, i.e. current leader Mikko Hirvonen (Ford) or current World Champion, Sébastien Loeb (Citroën).

The recent confirmation stating that both Citroën and Ford will continue in the WRC in 2010 and 2011, together with the previous confirmation stating that the Spanish round will continue in next season’s calendar, have risen the interest in taking part in this round. With entries still open, the five teams taking part in the World Championship, i.e. Citroën Total, BP Ford Abu Dhabi, Stobart VK M-Sport, Citroën Junior and Munchi’s Ford, will attend the Rally de España with at least 11 WRC vehicles, and they will be joined by several private drivers, including Petter Solberg, who will not be racing in Australia but in Catalunya. The composition of the 2009 and 2010 calendars turns the RallyRACC in an almost unavoidable event, considering that there will not be any other asphalt rally until the end of August next year, in Germany.

All Pirelli Star Drivers at the 45 RallyRACC
The five members of the Pirelli Star Driver scheme, a worldwide programme designed to find young talents, established for the first year by the Italian tyre manufacturer and the FIA, will take part in the RallyRACC with their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. The Pirelli Star Driver scheme is a selection of five drivers from the FIA Rally Championships in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.

Producción Rally Racing at the 45 RallyRACC as well
For the second season in a row, the RACC will be supporting the Producción Rally Racing, a single-make cup with unique features and a calendar combining asphalt and gravel rallies. Participants will have an official team structure available, including a common service area and central management for the preparation of their vehicles (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X), thus securing a complete mechanical equality.

The RallyRACC will be one of the ten scoring rounds of the PRR this season, and it will be with no doubt an excellent challenge for the participants, since they are competing for no less than an official place at RMC for the 2010 Spanish Asphalt Rally Championship.

Publication of the Rally Guide 2 at www.rallyracc.com
Tomorrow, Thursday September 3rd, the Rally Guide 2 will be published at www.rallyracc.com, amending and extending all the information published in Guide 1.