Day 4: Victory in extremis for Andreas Mikkelsen-Ola Fløene (Volkswagen Polo R WRC)

25/10/2015

· Accident in the last stage of the leader, Sébastien Ogier (VW Polo R WRC)
· Volkswagen got a 1-2 with Mikkelsen and Jari-Matti Latvala
· Dani Sordo-Marc Martí (Hyundai i20 WRC), in third
· Nasser Al-Attiyah (Skoda Fabia R5), WRC2 World Champion
· Quentin Gilbert (Citroën DS3 R3T), WRC3 winner
· Marius Aasen, Drive Dmack Fiesta Trophy Champion

PortAventura, 25 October, 2015.- Unexpected outcome of the 51 RallyRACC when Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) had an accident in the last stage after they had clearly dominated the race up to that moment. A dramatic change that shows the rallys never finish until you cross the Finish line. The accident allowed Norwegian duo Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Floene, the World Champions team mates, to have their names inscribed for the first time as RallyRACC Champions and also their first ever WRC win. Apart from this unexpected success for Mikkelsen, Ogier's bad luck gave the Spanish due Dani Sordo-Marc Martí (Hyundai i20 WRC) the third step of the podium, behind Jari-Matti Latvala-Miikka Anttila (VW).

Ogier's accident forced to cancel the Duesaigües' stage and the rest of the competitors had to take an alternative route already set for these cases, to arrive to the Salou podium and receive a standard time. Up to that moment, the RallyRACC had been owned by the World Champions. The victory inherited by Mikkelsen and Latvala's second place were, anyway, a great 1-2 for Volkswagen Motorsport. 82 teams were at the start and 64 finished.

After a crowded street stage in Barcelona, the 51 RallyRACC started with a great battle on top, with 6 different stage winners at the end of the first day, which had tarmac and gravel stages, which showed again the uncertainty created by this itinerary. In any case, Ogier already finished the first day as the leader, thanks to the times he set in the most difficult stage of the day, Terra Alta', but with a very small difference over his team mate Latvala.

With the arrival of the tarmac stages, the crushing dominance of the VW Polo was even clearer, and was even helped by the mistakes of the drivers that had been their rivals in the first stages, such as Ott Tänak (Ford). Dani Sordo (Hyundai) was in second and did his best to hold his ground until the German cars gradually took the top three places at the end of the third day. The Ogier-Ingrassia accident just before the end, allowed Sordo-Martí (Hyundai) to get on the podium in third place.

WRC2: Nasser Al-Attiyah (Skoda) keeps the title
Thanks to the third place he took at the 51 RallyRACC, Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah mathematically secured the WRC2 title he had already taken last season. The success in that class was for the Swedish driver Pontus Tidemand, followed by the Czech Jan Kopecky, the already mentioned Al-Attiyah and Germany's Armin Kremer, all four with Skoda. In this class there were two Spanish teams, although both suffered problems during the race. Nevertheless, Nil Solans and José Antonio Suárez, both with Peugeot 208 T16 R5, set very interesting times in some stages. The driver from Andorra Joan Carchat (Mitsubishi) had to retire due to engine failure when they dominated the production category, being one of the favourites of that class World Cup.

WRC3: Victory for Quentin Gilbert (Citroën)
French Quentin Gilbert (Citroën DS3 R3T) won the WRC3 category of the RallyRACC, so he is closer to secure the title in this class, although he will have to wait until the last round, the Wales-GB Rally. Gilbert already secured the FIA Junior title earlier this year. Despite having to leave the top position to Simone Tempestini due to a penalty and a puncture, the Italian had the same problem and Gilbert could recover the lead and finish ahead of Terry Folb (Citroën) and Italian Fabio Andolfi (Peugeot).

Drive Dmack Fiesta Trophy: Marius Aasen (Ford), Champion
With a tough battle and many alternations, the single-brand Championship Drive Dmack Fiesta Trophy was for the Norwegian driver Marius Aasen, after also winning the two races held this weekend. In the gravel stage, which gave points as another round, Aasen finished ahead of the Briton Tom Cave and Australian Brendan Reeves, while in the two tarmac stages, which had an independent classification from the gravel ones, Aasen dominated again, followed by Reeves y Cave.

Organization and media impact success
The 51 RallyRACC CATALUNYA-COSTA DAURADA, Rally de España 2015, was once again a success in its organization and impact, both direct and media. The street stages in Barcelona and Salou had a huge amount of spectators which in Montjuïc is estimated around 20,000 people. The round was once again appreciated by the teams, the drivers and the FIA. This 11^th edition had its base in Salou, Salou, PortAventura and Costa Daurada.

After the RallyRACC, the FIA World Rally Championship will have its last round of the year in Wales from November 12 to 15.

Final classification of the 51 RallyRACC
1-Andreas Mikkelsen-Ola Floene (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), 3h.21'04"8
2-Jari-Matti Latvala-Miikka Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), a 3"1
3-Dani Sordo-Marc Martí (Hyundai i20 WRC), a 21"2
4-Mads Østberg-Jonas Andersson (Citroën DS3 WRC), a 1'06"3
5-Kris Meeke-Paul Nagle (Citroën DS3 WRC), a 1'08"2
6-Hayden Paddon-John Kennard (Hyundai i20 WRC), a 1'23"2
7-Martin Prokop-Jan Tománek (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), a 4'14"2
8-Thierry Neuville-Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC), a 8'01"9
9-Pontus Tidemand-Emil Axelsson (Skoda Fabia R5, WRC2), a 8'56"8
10-Jan Kopecky-Jan Tománek (Skoda Fabia R5, WRC2), a 9'07"5
Etc. up to 64 classified