While this year’s Mexican rally is not part of the World Rally Championship (WRC), the same special stages are being used this weekend. The Rally of Nations differs slightly from regular rallies as it features both individual and team competition.
The race started traditionally from Guanajuato, where the city stage once again was full of atmosphere. This short burst was completed twice, with Norwegian favourite Mads Östberg setting the fastest time on both runs.
The competition includes several veterans, among them Julien Ingrassia, who clinched eight world championships alongside Sebastien Ogier. This time, Ingrassia is behind the wheel of an N-group Mitsubishi Lancer.
Ingrassia showed surprisingly good pace right from the spectator stages. The French ace is currently in 12th place overall, trailing Östberg by 17.8 seconds after the first two stages.
Notably, among Mitsubishi drivers, he is ranked fourth, only behind experienced drivers: Italian Alberto Battistolli, Spanish Nil Solans, and British Tom Williams. Ingrassia is only 2.7 seconds behind Battistolli.
“This is not the first time that I’m doing a rally on gravel. But this is the first time in Mexico, this is the first time in a four-wheel-drive. This is a heavy car, difficult to handle, to understand,” Ingrassia stated before the competition, according to Dirtfish.
Finnish veteran Harri Rovanperä, on the other hand, started his race more cautiously in a Toyota GR Yaris, used in national rally series. After two stages, Rovanperä is in 25th place, 35.9 seconds behind the leader. The best Toyota driver in the race is Swedish Dennis Rådström in seventh place.
French legend Didier Auriol had a worse start. He had to skip the second run of the Guanajuato stage because a small fire broke out in the engine of his Mitsubishi. Auriol speculated that he might not be able to continue in the competition on Saturday.
The Rally of Nations continues on Saturday with six special stages and concludes on Sunday.
