Rally Guanajuato México 2013 · March 7-10 2013

Route Is Ready!

27/01/2012 · 08:43 pm Add a comment!

Year after year, the organisers of Rally Guanajuato Mexico strive to find new ways to delight the fans who every March come to watch the only FIA championship event held in Mexico, and at the same time to innovate and set new world-class standards. That was the case in 2011, with the creation of the special night-time street stage held in the city of Guanajuato, and this year will be no different.
Months of planning have resulted in a new route that will require greater concentration from all the competitors, as the total competitive distance has gone up from 364.87 km to 417.70 km. This increase will allow more people to enjoy the rally and mean greater access for the media, whilst not affecting Rally Guanajuato Mexico’s reputation for being one of the most compact events on the FIA calendar.
On March 4, the first day of the event, cars will now drive a total of 156.41 km, as opposed to the 143.17 km of previous years, some of the highlights of the day being the newly included special stages, Los Mexicanos (9.76 km) and Las Minas (18.88 km), both to the east of Guanajuato.
In addition to these, the Ortega and El Cubilete stages are back, although both will now be driven in opposite direction to 2011, and the latter stage has been extended by 4.18 km and covers a new 7 km section of cobblestone. The Otates stage, which will be run on Saturday, March 5, has been created from a combination of several past stages, including Alfaro and Duarte in reverse direction. It will cover a distance of 41.88 km, making it the second longest in the competition. Last, but not least, Sunday has a sting in the tail, and  drivers will certainly have to keep their wits about them now that the Guanajuatito stage has been increased to 54.76 km, making it the longest in the history of the competition, and a stage in which final positions will be decided just a few kilometres from the podium.
At the same time, drivers will be keen to take away the extra few points available in the Guanajuato Power Stage, first introduced into the WRC in 2011. This stage will be the last of the competition and covers a distance of 5.75 km. There are three points up for grabs for the winner, with two more for second place, and one point for third.
And so Rally Guanajuato Mexico aims to raise the difficulty a notch whilst maintaining its reputation for being one of the more compact events of the WRC season, yet nevertheless one that, year after year, proves to be one of the most thrilling.