Mexico made an eagerly-awaited debut on the World Rally Championship schedule in 2004 and has quickly proved to be a popular addition to the calendar, with a compact series of well-organised, high-speed gravel stages through the Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato mountains and plains around the cities of Guanajuato and Leon. The FIA’s new event rotation system was going to cause the event to be missed this year but it unexpectedly re-entered the series because organisers wished to be in the world calendar again in 2010, the country’s foundation anniversary year.
The high-altitude stages make for spectacular viewing as they climb over one peak, down through a flat, open valley and then back up a hill the other side. The altitude has downsides, though, as the engines struggle to breathe in the thin air and suffer a drop in power of about 20 percent. The road surface is dry and sandy, but rocks can get on the road, so drivers have to balance high speeds with caution.
All-in-all, Mexico is a great event for rallying fans. Leon - located about 400km north-west of Mexico City - is one of the more modern towns in the country, although there's still plenty of genuine local colour for tourists to enjoy.
This year Corona Rally Mexico will feature a more condensed route of 839km, with 43 percent of the distance as competitive stages. The new route is even shorter than last year’s, which was then the shortest in the history of the world championship rally, so this year Mexico promises to break another record! Though it may still be winter in North America at the time of the event, this event counts as the first clear-condition rally of the season.
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