Mexico : Mitsubishi / P-WRC - PreviewAfter a fascinating opening round in the snowy conditions of Sweden, the second round of the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship couldn't be more different.
It's time for Mexico, the first warm-weather event of the season
and the first gravel test for the fastest rally drivers on the planet. Mitsubishi will, once again, be exceptionally well represented on this event, with 16 Lancer Evolutions taking the start, eight of which will be chasing points towards the biggest crown production car rallying has on offer: the world championship.
This second round of the FIA Production Car WRC is always one of the most popular among the drivers and fans. The local people take the event to heart and offer a welcome as warm as the climate, which greets the competitors this week. The friendly nature of the event belies one of the toughest challenges the crews will face this season. The Central American roads are a mixture of everything, incorporating devilishly fast sections with some of the WRC's bumpiest and rockiest tracks in the season.
Corona Rally Mexico is based, as usual, in Leon. The start takes place 55km south of Leon in Guanajuato, among the vivid and beautifully coloured individual houses; Thursday (March 8) night's ceremonial start really provides one of the most stunning backdrops for the world championship.
From there on, though, it's pedal to the metal for the drivers. There will be no time for them to stop and enjoy the fantastic scenery as they push themselves and their cars to the limit in the pursuit of victory come the finish on Sunday afternoon.
Mitsubishi's challenge for victory in Mexico is led by talented and vastly experienced Japanese driver Fumio Nutahara.
Nutahara has competed on this event twice in the past and was right at the front of the field in Central America 12 months ago. After his points-scoring start in Sweden, Nutahara is looking forward to Mexico.
"The past two participations in Rally Mexico have given me bad results. So, with this bad experience, the team and I prepared physically and mentally for this year's new challenge and I will enjoy the roads in Mexico," said the man who will be co-driven by Britain's Daniel Barritt. "It is a good challenge for the car, the tires and the driver. It will be quite different to the first round, certainly not as cold!"
Hungarian driver Balazs Benik will make his debut in the series, as will Britain's Stuart Jones, who steps up from his domestic series in a Lancer Evolution. Jones will have fellow Briton Mark Higgins, one of the world's most experienced rally drivers, on hand to ask for advice. Higgins, however, is firmly focused on victory in Mexico after a disappointing exit from the opening round, where he crashed his Mitsubishi. Fabio Frisiero (Italy), Andreas Aigner (Austria) and Martin Rauam, the protégé of five-time world rally winner Markko Martin, are also likely to feature at the front of the field.
Following Thursday night's ceremonial start, the crews will face 849.55km including 366.06km of 20 stages through the rally's three legs. Once again, one of the main challenges facing the drivers and cars in Mexico is the high altitude nature of the roads. The event's central service park in Leon is 1,800 metres above sea level, but that rises considerably in leg one's Ortega stage, the highest point on the event, where the cars will be forced to breathe in the thin air at 2,737 metres.
Mitsubishi
