72 vehicles entered for the 53 RallyRACC

20/09/2017

- 16 of them are WRC, 16 WRC2 and 6 WRC3
- The race can be decisive of the WRC title and will be final for the JWRC title
- 20 Spanish teams led by Dani Sordo-Marc Martí (Hyundai)
- 27 countries will be represented, 45 drivers from Spain, 26 from France and 12 from Finland

After receiving the approval of the FIA, the 53 RallyRACC CATALUNYA-COSTA DAURADA, Rally de España 2017, has published the entry list with a total of 72 crews (2 more than in 2016), including drivers that have registered for the different classes of the FIA World Rally Championship. The RallyRACC is the third from last scoring round of the WRC and, except for WRC2 and WRC3, the event could be decisive for one of the two main titles, i.e. drivers and manufacturers, which is why the RallyRACC will be once again a decisive event for the FIA World Rally Championship.

The 142 entered drivers and co-drivers represent a total of 27 countries, with Spain (45 drivers and co-drivers) as the most represented country, followed by France (26), Finland (12), Great Britain (8), Norway (7), Italy (6), Ireland and Sweden (5), etc. The most represented make is Ford (27 cars), followed by Peugeot (16) and Citroën (10).

The official entry list is led by 16 World Rally Cars, 13 of which are running on 2017 specs. Among the entrants there are four Ford Fiesta WRC of the M-Sport World Rally Team, leaders in the manufacturer's championship, including the current World Champion, Sébastien Ogier, who will be joined by Ott Tänak, Elfyn Evans and Mads Østberg. Only the top three of them shall score points for the Manufacturer's Championship.

Hyundai Motorsport has entered three i20 Coupé WRC for Andreas Mikkelsen, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team has also entered their three official drivers: Kris Meeke, Stéphane Lefebvre and Khalid Al-Qassimi, the three of them at the wheel of a Citroën C3 WRC. Last but not least, there will be three Toyota Yaris WRC of the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team, driven by Jari-Matti Latvala, Juho Hänninen and Esapekka Lappi.

The three WRCars with 2016 specs will be driven by Valeriy Gorban (BMW-Mini John Cooper Works), Jean-Michel Raoux (Citroën DS3 WRC) and Jourdan Serderidis (Citroën DS3 WRC).

As usual, the WRC2 class is the class with the largest list of participants. Already champion, Pontus Tidemand, will not be taking part in the rally, but the rest of registered crews will be there, although two of the drivers, namely Eric Camilli (Ford) and Ole-Christian Veiby (Skoda) will not score points. Thus, the only top drivers with a chance to improve their current position in the championship are Jan Kopecky (Skoda), Teemu Suninen (Ford) and Simone Tempestini (Citroën), currently on fourth, fifth and eighth position, respectively. As an exception, the current Spanish Rally Champion, Cristian Garcia (Ford), will be taking part in this class.

There are 6 cars entered in the WRC3 class, 5 of which are JWRC participants, a trophy that is specific for under 28 year olds, the final result of which will be decided at the RallyRACC as it is the last scoring round of the series. The WRC3 title is already in the hand of RACC driver Nil Solans (Ford), who is also the main favourite for the JWRC title.

45 Spanish drivers and co-drivers
These 45 drivers and co-drivers are obviously led by Dani Sordo-Marc Martí (Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC nº 5), the only Spanish crew in an official team. Highlights among the remaining Spanish crews are Cristian García-Pablo Marcos (Ford Fiesta R5 no. 44, WRC2) and Nil Solans-Miquel Ibàñez (Ford Fiesta R2 no. 62, WRC3). In the WRC2 class, the Spanish co-driver Daniel Cué will be sitting next to Mexican driver Benito Guerra.

As outstanding participants in the list of local participants, there are the participants of the Volant RACC-Trofeu Mavisa, the promotion championship of the RACC that returns to the world championship after their last time, which was back in 1998.

The RallyRACC, the only mixed rally of the World Championship, will be staging its 13th consecutive edition with nerve centre in Costa Daurada, Salou and PortAventura World. The official start of the race will take place in Salou, at 20.00hrs on Thursday, 5 October. The three rally days will be staged from Friday 6 to Sunday 8 October, with mixed asphalt/gravel roads on the first day and asphalted roads on the two remaining days. There will be a total of 19 special stages to make up 312.02 timed km, from a total of 1,297.62 km that make up the itinerary of the rally.