Round 12 of the 2015 World Rally Championship sees the teams head to mainland Spain, Catalunya to be precise, for the RACC Rally de Espana. With Friday's action contested on gravel and the proceeding two days driven on tarmac, the Spanish round of the WRC is the only truly mixed surface event of the year. It comes as no surprise then that the previous winners since it became a mixed surface rally are Sebastien Loeb and Ogier, the two most complete drivers of their generation. Rally de Espana is a great showcase of what the WRC's mechanics are capable of, as they have just 75 minutes to convert the cars from rugged gravel machines to low-slung, corner-hugging beasts on the Friday night of the rally. It sounds easier than it is, as besides the obvious aesthetic changes (wheels and tyres) the brakes, suspension and other components must be changed. Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport The gravel tests on the opening day are notorious for hanging dust, so despite sweeping the loose gravel away for those behind, championship leader Sebastien Ogier may not be at too much of a disadvantage. And as for the tarmac tests, they're as close as the WRC gets to a racing circuit, with fast, flowing and wide roads for the world's best drivers to attack. These are stages a certain home hero Dani Sordo (pictured above) relishes, and with a jubilant home crowd pushing him on he is one of the hot favourites for a strong result in Spain. However, if he wants to win his second WRC event and first on home soil, he has to knock Volkswagen off their perch, which only Kris Meeke has managed all season and that came when the German marque were blighted with mechanical failures. The Ogier vs Latvala battle is most likely to be one of three battles to watch this weekend. Ogier is the only driver of the current crop to have won the event, but Latvala is both rapid on gravel and tarmac, and is determined to win the final three rallies of the year, and is so far on course after winning the Tour de Corse earlier this month. The second battle to keep an eye on is the race for second in the Manufacturers Championship between Citroen Racing and Hyundai Motorsport. The French marque head Hyundai by just a single point travelling to Spain, and could well lose that spot with home hero Sordo and fine tarmac driver Thierry Neuville heading the Hyundai charge. However, Neuville is low on confidence and Meeke's is rising, so don't expect this to be a one horse race. Although not scoring manufacturer points, keep an eye on the ever improving Hayden Paddon too, who has recently received the boost of news that he will take Thierry's position in the main team for Wales Rally GB in November. Paddon made his WRC debut in Spain in 2013, and won his first stage a year later, so he has good form and for once for him, solid experience of a WRC event. Photo Credit: Skoda Motorsprot The third and final battle that is definitely worth casting an eye over during the 2015 Rally de Espana is the one at the head of the WRC2 field.
Defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah and 2014 European Champion Esapekka Lappi are set to slug it out in what is effectively a title decider in Spain. The Qatari driver is striving to become the first man to win the WRC2/SWRC series more than once, but the young Finn Lappi is hotly tipped as one of rallying's brightest prospects and has a great turn of speed, but will need to eradicate mistakes like the one in Germany. It remains to be seen which way the pendulum will swing in this titanic battle! The rally gets underway with a spectator stage in Salou on Thursday night. On Friday, there is the added challenge of no mid-day service break, so any mistakes on the gravel could prove costly. And with seven new stages in this year's route, the outcome of the rally is further thrown into the open air. What I do know though is this is definitely not one to miss, and Sebastien Ogier will probably win...
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January 2018
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