The Manufacturers’ Championship title has come down to the final round of the 2019 World Rally Championship to be decided.(Note: this preview was prepared before the route changes for Rally Australia this week)
It has been a close battle between current series leaders Hyundai Motorsport and Toyota Gazoo Racing, with just 18 points between them.
While the Drivers’ title is settled, both Thierry Neuville and Sebastien Ogier are only separated by 10 points to be runner-up, which Neuville has already secured the previous three seasons.
For the fourth time Australia holds the final round of the World Rally Championship (14-17 November) in Coffs Harbour and this is currently looking also to be the final time it will represent the Antipodes in the calendar, as New Zealand makes its return in 2020.
The rally is primarily run on fast flowing forest stages to the north and south of Coffs where the service park and headquarters are all located.
The cars return to service at Coffs in the middle of each day, while the finish will be held at the end of the Wedding Bells II stage.
The rally starts on the Thursday evening with two runs at the Rally Show super special along the beach front, with two further runs of the super special when the rally returns to Coffs at the end of Friday’s stages.
Hayden Paddon launches his Hyundai in 2018. Photo: Matt Jelonek
Friday and Sunday comprise two loops of three stages run in the same order, while Saturday has two loops of four stages, with the first loop finishing with a single run at the primarily tarmac Raleigh racetrack.
The longest stage of the event, Welshs Creek Reverse (28.83km), is held third in the first loop. The second loop runs in a different order with Welshs Creek held second.
There are only five stages exactly the same as run in 2018. Two completely new stages in an area west of Macksville not used before; three new stages combining roads previously used and the remaining three stages, including the 5km shakedown stage, have changes to them.
The only surprise on the entry list was the inclusion of Mads Ostberg in a Citroen team World Rally Car (intended for support of Ogier’s title hopes), but following Ott Tanak’s success in wresting the title in Spain, Mads’ entry was duly cancelled.
Wedding Bells forest will again host the finale on day three.
A further change of note following Tanak signing a contract with Hyundai for 2020, was Andreas Mikkelsen being replaced by Craig Breen.
In connection with the WRC2 title race, this has now narrowed down to being between Pierre-Louis Loubet and Benito Guerra, causing two earlier contenders, Marco Bulacia and Fabio Andolfi, to withdraw their entries following results in Spain.
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