Round 2

Categories:
WRC, P-WRC, S-WRC

Based:
Leon

Surface:
Gravel

Most recent winner:
Sebastien Loeb (2008)

Rally website:
http://www.rallymexico.com

The WRC event rotation system meant Mexico was absent from last year's calendar, but it returns in 2010 amid a year long fiesta to mark the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution and the 200th anniversary of its independence.

With Rally Argentina sitting out the 2010 season, Mexico is the only country in the American continent to host a round of this year's championship, making it a popular destination for stateside rally fans.

The rally is a relative newcomer to the WRC calendar but has proved a popular addition since its debut in 2004, with a compact series of well-organised, high-speed gravel stages through the Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato mountains and the plains around the cities of Guanajuato, Leon and Silao.

The high-altitude stages make for spectacular viewing with a mixture of mountain peaks and flat open valleys. The altitude has downsides, though, as the engines struggle to breathe in the thin air and suffer a drop in power of about 20 per cent. The road surface is dry and sandy, but rocks can get on the road, so drivers have to balance high speeds with caution.

Shakedown timings:
1. P. SOLBERG. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:51.7
2. SORDO. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:51.8
3. OGIER. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:51.9
4. LOEB. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:52.5
5. RAIKKONEN. Citroen C4 WRC. 2:54.2
6. HIRVONEN. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 2:55.3
7. H.SOLBERG. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 2:56.2
8. VILLAGRA. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 2:56.4
9. WILSON. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 2:59.9
10. LATVALA. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 3:00.1
11. BLOCK. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 3:04.6

Courtesy: http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=10 ... +Shakedown

Over all After SS 5

Pos Driver Time Diff Next
1 Petter SOLBERG 54:59.7 0
2 Sébastien OGIER M 55:19.4 - +19.7
3 Sébastien LOEB M 55:28.9 - +9.5
4 Dani SORDO M 55:33.0 - +4.1
5 Jari-Matti LATVALA M 55:49.3 - +16.3
6 Mikko HIRVONEN M 56:08.1 - +18.8
7 Henning SOLBERG M 56:14.5 - +6.4
8 Matthew WILSON M 56:56.3 - +41.8
9 Ken BLOCK 57:13.8 - +17.5
10 Federico VILLAGRA M 58:03.3 - +49.5

ss12 sees Loeb in the lead. Even being early in the road has not affected him. Great morning run. Lets see if he wants to lead into sunday.

Looks like Petter Solberg is back to his competitive days. Will his car be as fast as the C4 works cars?

Can't but feel bad for Ogier. He definitely had pace throughtout the rally and if we look back at the SSS in the last couple of rallies, he had most of the big boys behind him. So, when it came to the SSS between him and Solberg, I thought it was Ogier for sure.Too bad it didn't work for him!

But surely a great revival for Solberg. Considering that he and phil have been running around for sponsors and also cars, this must surely be a great feeling. Cannot understand why the Fords where so far behind though. It can't be form..both jari and mikko like this is a shock.

Please watch till the end. Solberg is really crying... So toching

WRC Mexico Solberg vs Ogier SSS