19 entries in the WRC2 class where the title still remains to be won with entries from the top six drivers, six different nationalities, in the standings who are still in with a chance of the title. This is headed by Pierre-Louis Loubet, Benito Guerra, Kajetan Kajetanowicz, Nikolay Gryazin, Marco Bulacia and Fabio Andolfi. All but one of the contenders are driving Fabias.
The Solans brothers, Nil and Jan (the recently crowned 2019 Junior World Champion), are both entered; Jan making his first competitive appearance in an R5 car, a Fiesta MkII. There are five non registered R5 entries.
Following the World Motor Sport Council meeting at the beginning of the month, and with the intent to simplify the FIA Rally Pyramid structure, changes have been published relating to the WRC2 class for 2020.
The newly crowned 2019 WRC2 Pro Champion, Kalle Rovanpera, has (like Kenneth Eriksson the 1986 Group A World Champion) likely become the only driver to secure this particular title. In 2020 the title will revert to WRC2, but now as a designated class for manufacturer and private teams, while WRC3 will return, designated for independent Rally 2 (RC2) competitors.
The current independence unrest in the Catalan region has reignited in recent days, it is possibly the biggest pre-event talking point.
Such a high profile event as the rally could be a target for protestors and the drain on police and emergency services resources could seriously affect the running of the rally, and there could be doubts about the rally going ahead.
Note: The announcement by the WRC Promoter of the 2020 calendar see the event’s organisers having chosen to temporarily step down from the championship in order to focus on creating a more sustainable financial base for its return to the series in 2021.
Championship update:
Ott Tanak goes to Spain with a 28 point lead in the Drivers series, Hyundai with an eight point lead in the Manufacturers’.
Skoda Motorsport have a 53 point lead in the WRC2 Pro Makes series over M-Sport. With one entry in Spain and none in Australia, it's Skoda’s title to lose.
Four of the current WRC2 title contenders are also entered in Australia: Loubet, Guerra, Bulacia and Andolfi and will each keep all their scores.
Team by Team
Citroen
Winners of the Spanish WRC round on 11 occasions with four different models of WRC car, including the last two editions with the current C3 WRC. Their usual two car team of Sebastien Ogier and Esapekka Lappi are entered.
Reflections on WRGB: "Even if we still have to improve, we've made some steps forwards on gravel and we keep working hard to do some new ones."
Special challenges of Spain: Mixture of surface. First day on gravel with a lot of cleaning if dry, second and third days on tarmac stages which look likes track racing. You have to be strong on both surfaces and adapt quickly.
Testing: Four days in Catalunya, one on tarmac for Lappi, two on tarmac for Ogier and one more about development with Eric Camilli on gravel.
Technical changes for Spain? Keep improving our differentials, geometry, dampers settings, but we won't have any new homologation. Ogier has the car Lappi used in Estonia Rally and Lappi his car from Turkey.
Thoughts from Ogier after GB (runner-up in Spain in 2017 and 2018): “It was pretty obvious that we were far off the pace in Germany. (Spain is) very important, it’s our only chance to be in this fight – we need every bit of improvement in terms of pace. We need everything to keep this fight alive.”
Plans for Australia: Mads Ostberg joins Ogier and Lappi in a WRC, but is not registered for Manufacturers’ points.
Hyundai Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo return to the team’s line-up, bringing both their asphalt experience and local knowledge to maximise the team’s chances of increasing its lead in the Manufacturers’ series. Loeb has won each of his last nine appearances on the Spanish WRC round. It was Loeb’s late change of tyre choice on the Sunday morning that won the rally for him (in a Citroen) last year. Sordo makes his 18th appearance on his home event, equalling that of current appearance leader Carlos Sainz. Neuville’s thoughts on Spain: "The speed has been there on the last couple of events. We are well prepared for Spain, it’s definitely a challenging event starting third (on the road) on the first day. It should be OK if it stays dry. "Hopefully we take more than 12 points from Ott to keep our hopes alive." Teams will have a unique 75-minute flexi service at the end of Friday’s six stages to transform the set-up of the cars to cope with the change of terrain. The team tested in Tarragona area the week after WRGB. Loeb and Sordo shared a day on gravel, plus each of the crews had a day each on tarmac. Plans for Australia: the team’s entries will be Neuville, Sordo and Mikkelsen.🇪🇸@RallyRACC notebook by... Julien Ingrassia
With 11 appearances including 3 wins, he has a few memories 🚗Red secrets 11 time winners, @Citroen won with each of its cars since 1999. Didier Clément recalls the first win... 🇫🇷 https://t.co/aSJJ8wuMKX 🇬🇧 https://t.co/2sSkUD47aI pic.twitter.com/TzlVjrg0Ko — Citroën Racing (@CitroenRacing) October 21, 2019
M-Sport "The result in Wales was not what we wanted, but we can all take encouragement from Elfyn’s performance. He secured seven stage wins and were it not for the puncture and suspension damage on Friday, he would have been right up there challenging for the victory. "Suninen showed good pace on Friday. We’re confident he will come back stronger in Spain. Tidemand has now had experience on four completely different surfaces (Monte, Sweden, Turkey and Wales) and it all clicked on Sunday morning." M-Sport enter just two cars in Spain for Evans and Suninen, both drivers with their WRGB cars. They shared three days testing on asphalt roads west of Barcelona. In WRC2 Pro Greensmith has his WRGB R5 and in WRC2 Pedro has the car that was intended for Gill in Wales. Plans for Australia: entries for Evans, Suninen and Paddon. Toyota The challenge for Toyota remains that of catching Hyundai in the Manufacturers’ series. Team Principle Tommi Makinen: “We are doing according to the plan set a long time ago”. Rally de Espańa is well-known for it's mixed surface. It’s also the biggest challenge for the teams. Only 1h15min to convert the car from gravel to tarmac set-up after the Friday stages. Mixed surface is also a big challenge for the drivers as they need to adapt quickly their driving style from gravel to tarmac. Wales Rally GB was successful as we managed to reduce the gap with Hyundai in the Manufacturer's Championship. Toyota led the rally throughout. Tanak dominated the whole weekend, Meeke was also consistent and brought valuable points for the team. Makinen: “It was a really great result. Great work during the whole weekend under big pressure. I would say no mistakes at all… plus also that we have this new rear wing which doesn’t allow us to fly away anymore and still he (Ott) was performing very well." Each crew had at least one testing day in Spain since Wales. Latvala has chassis 12, Meeke 11 and Tanak 13 (his Germany winning car) with Katsuta in the TMR entry in the same car he drove in Germany. Experience wise, Meeke won in Spain in 2017. Tanak: “We know it’s maybe a bit tricky on the first day (in Spain) as we’ll be opening the road. It always depends on the weather. Last year, we saw it was easy to get some rain there and this could change the game. On the performance side, I believe we are good and we can take the fight." Plan for Australia: usual three drivers.NEXT UP: The season’s only true mixed-surface event, @RallyRACC on October 24-27.
Read our Press Release from here:https://t.co/EJmdabeZHw#TOYOTA #YarisWRC #RallydeEspana #RallyRACC #TGR_WRC #Rallying #ToyotaGAZOORacing pic.twitter.com/PHixPbaHui — Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) October 18, 2019
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