WRC - 2020 FIA World Rally Championship Rally Mexico - Preview
The FIA World Rally Championship will leave the European winter behind for the heat of Rally Mexico (12-15 March), round three of the 2020 season and the first true gravel event of the year.
![](https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/styles/content_details/public/news/main_image/wrc_1.jpg?itok=IHP-AHqS)
With temperatures that can top 30°C, Rally Mexico also features the highest point of the season at 2727 metres above sea level. At such altitude, engines are deprived of oxygen and can lose as much as 20 per cent of their power. Combined with the heat, this makes it one of the toughest rounds on the calendar for the cars, and the drivers have to adapt their driving styles to the conditions.
After his first win for Toyota in Sweden, Elfyn Evans leads the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career. Although he is tied on points with Monte-Carlo winner Thierry Neuville, the Welshman is the one who will run first on the road in Mexico. Sébastien Ogier – the winner in Mexico in five of the last seven years – is just five points behind in third, and Kalle Rovanperä fourth after a strong start for the all-new Toyota driver line-up. After having teamed up with Sébastien Loeb and Craig Breen, Hyundai’s Neuville and Ott Tänak will compete this time alongside Dani Sordo, who makes his first start of 2020. In the M-Sport Ford squad, Esapekka Lappi and Teemu Suninen are rejoined by Gus Greensmith.
In FIA WRC2, Hyundai once again enters Nikolay Gryazin and Ole Christian Veiby, with Pontus Tidemand also making the trip in a Toksport-entered Škoda. A total of 10 FIA WRC3 entries are led by Scandinavian youngster Oliver Solberg and include local favourites Benito Guerra and Ricardo Triviño. It will also be the 2020 debuts for Poland’s Kajetan Kajetanowicz, Bolivia’s Marco Bulacia and Chile’s Alberto Heller.
THE 2020 ROUTE
Rally Mexico will once again be based in León and begins on Thursday evening in the colourful city of Guanajuato, where this year the crews will tackle two runs through its narrow streets and former mining tunnels to provide a stunning start to the competitive action. Friday has ten stages in total: this includes new tests at Parque Bicentenario and on the streets of León itself to the delight of spectators, plus two passes of the city’s racing circuit, in addition to a loop of three gravel stages that features the famous El Chocolate test. Saturday consists of another three gravel stages, each run twice, a return to the Autodromo and a different street test adjacent to the service park. Sunday starts with the longest stage of this year’s rally – Otates and its the 33.61 kilometres – followed by San Diego and El Brinco, which becomes the rally-ending Power Stage.
RALLY DATA
Total distance | 959.25 km |
Stage distance: | 324.85 km (34%) |
Number of stages: | 24 |
MEDIA ACCREDITATION
Media accreditation must be collected personally by accredited Pass Holders at the Accreditation Desk located at the Media Center in the Expo-Feria building, Léon Service Park (Fairgrounds Expo Center Hall, León Blvd. Adolfo Lopez Mateos Esq. Blvd. Francisco Villa León, Guanajuato 37510 México).
The opening hours are:
Tuesday 10 March: | 14:00 - 18:00 hrs |
Wednesday 11 March: | 08:00 - 18:00 hrs |
Thursday 12 March: | 08:00 - 18:00 hrs |
2020 RALLY MEXICO TIMETABLE & MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
Wednesday 11 March |
|
Mandatory media safety briefing, Photographers’ Room, Media Center | 17:00 hrs |
|
|
Thursday 12 March |
|
Mandatory Shakedown for P1 & other drivers as requested, Llano Grande | 10:00 - 12:00 hrs |
Shakedown P1, P2 & P3, Llano Grande | 12:20 - 14:20 hrs |
‘Meet the Crews’ Top 3 Shakedown, WRC stage in Léon Service Park | 14:30 hrs |
Shakedown for others, Llano Grande | 14:00 - 16:00 hrs |
Health Rally Kids Meet the Crews (photoshoot), Léon Rally Campus | 14:40 hrs |
FIA Press Conference, Press Room, Media Centre, Léon Service Park | 15:00 hrs |
Starting with P2, P3 drivers & Ken Block (10’) |
|
Followed by P1 drivers (10’) |
|
Ceremonial start, Guanajuato City | 20:00 hrs |
|
|
Friday 13 March |
|
Start of Section 2, Léon Service Park | 07:45 hrs |
First car arrives for technical / media zone & service, Léon Service Park | 13:17 hrs |
First car arrives for technical / media zone & final service, Léon SP | 20:34 hrs |
‘Meet the Crews’, Léon Service Park | During the 45’ service |
|
|
Saturday 14 March |
|
Start of Section 4, Léon Service Park | 07:45 hrs |
First car arrives for technical / media zone & service, Léon Service Park | 12:33 hrs |
First car arrives for technical / media zone & final service, Léon SP | 19:46 hrs |
‘Meet the Crews’, Léon Service Park | During the 45’ service |
|
|
Sunday 15 March |
|
Start of Section 6, Léon Service Park | 07:30 hrs |
First car arrives for regroup, Arperos | 10:21 hrs |
First car arrives for technical /media zone & final service, Léon SP | 12:28 hrs |
Rally Finish & Holding area, Léon Service Park | 12:48 hrs |
Podium Ceremony & Price Giving, Foro del Lago, Rally Campus | 14:00 hrs |
FIA Press Conference, Press Room, Media Centre, Léon Service Park | 15:00 hrs |
FIA PRESS CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE
Wednesday 11 March | FIA WRC |
| Elfyn Evans (GBR), Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team |
| Esapekka Lappi (FIN), M-Sport Ford World Rally Team |
| Dani Sordo (SPA), Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team |
| FIA WRC2 |
| Nicolay Gryazin (RUS), Hyundai Motorsport N |
| Pontus Tidemand (SWE), Toksport WRT |
| FIA WRC3 |
| Benito Guerra (MEX) |
| Marco Bulacia Wilkinson (BOL) |
| Guest driver (non-priority) |
| Ken Block (USA) |
|
|
Sunday 15 March | Winning FIA WRC2 Championship crew |
| Winning FIA WRC3 Championship crew |
| Top three crews in the overall classification |
| Representative of the winning manufacturer |
2020 RALLY MEXICO, MANUFACTURER ENTRIES
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (#11) |
| Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (#8) |
| Dani Sordo / Carlos Del Barrio (#6) |
|
|
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin (#33) |
| Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (#17) |
| Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen (#69) |
|
|
M-Sport Ford WRT | Teemu Suninen / Jarmo Lehtinen (#3) |
| Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (#4) |
| Gus Greensmith / Elliott Edmonson (#44) |
2020 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS
The provisional classifications for all the WRC Championships is available on the following link:
https://www.fia.com/events/world-rally-championship/season-2020/standings