84 entrants in the 51 RallyRACC
06/10/2015
- 15 WRCars, with all of the crews registered in the World Championship
- 24 entrants in WRC2 and the Production Cup and 10 in WRC3
- The event will be decisive for the Dmack Fiesta Trophy, with 10 participants
- 30 countries will be represented, 29 drivers from Spain, 18 from France and 17 from Italy
- Penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship 2015, from 22 to 25 October
A total of 84 crews submitted their entry form to take part in the 51 RallyRACC Catalunya-COSTA DAURADA, Rally de España 2015, the definitive entry list of which was published today after being approved by the FIA. This 2015 entry list has 10 entrants more than last year, and includes all of the crews that are registered in the World Championship and all of the favourite drivers in the different categories of the championship.
Sébastien Ogier-Julien Ingrassia, as well as Volkswagen Motorsport will be coming to the RallyRACC already crowned as 2015 World Champions, but the remaining top positions may experience a decisive phase at the Spanish race, especially as regards WRC2 and the Production Cup. The event will be determining for the single-make series Drive Dmack Fiesta Trophy, which will award the two last scores at the RallyRACC, one after the gravel and mixed stage and another after the two days on tarmac.
15 WRC units top the list of participants, led by the three-time world champion Sébastien Ogier (VW). All of the manufacturers registered in the WRC will be present. There will be three Volkswagen Polo R WRC (Ogier, Latvala, Mikkelsen), three Citroën DS3 WRC (Meeke, Østberg, Al Qassimi), two Ford Fiesta RS WRC (Tänak, Evans) and three Hyundai i20 WRC (Neuville, Sordo, Paddon). They will be joined by the Manufacturers' Teams Jipocar Czech (Prokop) and FWRT (Bertelli), both with a Ford Fiesta, the same vehicle to be used by Robert Kubica, and the private Citroën DS3 of Stéphane Lefebvre.
A total of 24 cars will be taking part in the WRC2 class, including all title candidates, as we are now entering the phase of the season, in which the overall classification will start to be defined, although the huge evenness will probably take the decision of the title to the last race in Wales. Two Spanish crews will be participating in WRC2: Nil Solans-Miquel Ibáñez and José Antonio Suárez-Cándido Carrera, both driving Peugeot 208 T16. The class includes the Production Cup, with three participants, one of them being Joan Carchat-Claudi Ribeiro (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) from Andorra, who are in the fight for the title. There are 10 entered cars in WRC3, seven of which are registered in the Junior World Championship.
29 Spanish drivers and co-drivers
A highlight among the entered crews are the 14 Spanish drivers and 15 Spanish co-drivers, obviously led by Sani Sordo and Marc Martí at the wheel of a works Hyundai i20 WRC. The other outstanding local crews are the already mentioned Solans-Ibàñez y Suárez-Carrera (both Peugeot R5), Josep Maria Membrado-Jordi Vilamala (Ford Fiesta R5) and Pepe López-Borja Rozada (Peugeot 208 VTI R2). Spain will be represented in WRC2 with the Spanish co-driver David Vázquez, who will be joining Ramón Torres from Chile (Ford Fiesta R5).
30 countries represented
In this 51 edition, the 168 entered drivers and co-drivers represent a total of 30 countries, Spain being the most represented (29), followed by France (18), Italy (17), Great Britain (14), Belgium (12), and Finland (9), etc. An event with these characteristics has usually a global representation and this year, in addition to the European participants, there are going to be drivers and co-drivers coming from the Middle East (Qatar, Emirates and Saudi Arabia), USA, Chile, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.
The represented makes, either as works or private teams, are eleven: 31 machines by Ford, 17 by Citroën, 12 by Peugeot, 6 by Mitsubishi and Skoda, 3 by Volkswagen, Hyundai and Opel, and 1 by Subaru, Renault and Suzuki.
In this 51 edition, the RallyRACC will be celebrating the 25th consecutive year as a scoring round towards the World Rally Championship, 11 of which had the Costa Daurada as nerve centre and Salou and PortAventura as hosts. The RallyRACC will start in Salou on Thursday, 22 October and will run its first special stage in Barcelona. From 23 to 25 October there will be three complete race days, the first run on gravel and mixed surface, and the two remaining days on tarmac, with a total of 23 special stages.
