Rally Mexico: ŠKODA Motorsport’s Pontus Tidemand chasing WRC 2 Championship lead
Mladá Boleslav: ŠKODA Motorsport has entered reigning WRC 2 Champions Pontus Tidemand (co-driver Jonas Andersson) from Sweden and 17-year old from Finland Kalle Rovanperä with co-driver Jonne Halttunen into the season’s third WRC round in Mexico where the tough gravel roads await the competitors after the ice and snow on the opening rounds of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) in Monte Carlo and Sweden.
The Rally Guanajuato Mexico (March 8-11) pose a different challenge. While Pontus Tidemand wants to move into the WRC 2 championship lead by repeating his victory from last year, Kalle Rovanperä is nominated for WRC2 for the first time, being an official ŠKODA Motorsport driver.
“In Mexico, we will field a unique combination of experience and speed. Pontus won the WRC2 category in Mexico last year and will again be the man to beat. Kalle already proved his speed on lose surface.
“Our ŠKODA FABIA R5 are well prepared for the challenge on the tough gravel roads of Rally Mexico,” said ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek.
“After temperatures below zero in Monte Carlo and Sweden, in Mexico the engines not only have to face 30 degrees Celsius and more. The stages also reach extreme altitudes, the highest point at 2,737 metres. The correct engine mapping is crucial, because the thin air causes a power loss of up to 20 per cent,” Hrabánek added.
Pontus Tidemand has good memories of Rally Mexico. “Last year, I could win after a tense fight. With another good result, I could take the lead of 2018 WRC2 championship standings. But I am pretty sure, my competitors, including my young and fast teammate Kalle, will give me a hard time,” said the reigning WRC2 champion.
Kalle Rovanperä, on the other hand, is starting the first time in Mexico. “I am here to learn. I love to drive on gravel and my ŠKODA FABIA R5 is perfectly prepared for the extreme conditions of Mexico,” said the young Finn.
Incidentally Kalle Rovanperä will be accompanied by his father Harri, who won Rally Mexico in 2002, when it was a candidate event for the FIA World Rally Championship.
Rally Mexico will start with the spectacular street stage in Guanajuato on Thursday (March 8) which features an underground road through a former mining tunnel.
On Friday (March 9), the longest day of the rally, the crews are facing nine Special Stages covering 155 Kms on rough gravel. The longest stage of the rally, the 31.44 Kms long “El Chocolate”, will climb up to an altitude of more than 2,700 metres.
On Saturday and Sunday (March 10/11), the rally features 12 more Stages covering additional 186.81 kms, including the Powerstage “Las Minas”, before the winner will be on the podium. Rally Guanajuato Mexico is based in Léon, the country’s fifth largest city, some 400 kms north-west of Mexico City.
SKODA release
