Mexico route
slims down and
adds chocolate

The first of the new tests is a 2.16-kilometre sprint through Guanajuato’s Bicentennial Park, built two years ago between the cities of Guanajuato, Leon and Silao to celebrate 200 years of Mexican independence.

The stage is one of two to be run at night on 7 March, straight after the rally opening Street Stage in Guanajuato.

The second new stage is the longest of Friday’s competition - a 30.57km monster that goes by the sweet sounding name of El Chocolate.

The test is brand new for most of its length, with just a 5km section of the well established Ortega stage added at the end. The new stage is named after a small town halfway through, but organisers are keen to point out that chocolate was invented in Mexico over 3,000 years ago.

As well as introducing the new stages, organisers have streamlined the four-day rally route. The event still features almost 400km of Special Stages but the liaison distance has been reduced by 15 per cent to 631km.

Organisers claim that this year’s 38 per cent ratio of stage to liaison distance give this rally the most compact and efficient route in the history of the sport.