The FIA World Cup for Rotten Country Rallies launches into action this weekend with the opening match of the five spherical sequence, the Qatar Rotten Country Rally (22-27 February). Regarded as one in every of the most tough rallies as far as navigation is concerned, the season-opener – which takes the contenders over the rough and rocky barren region land across the dimensions and breadth of the Allege – is enviornment to verify even the most hardened competitors.
This year, the sequence will again preserve the contenders across the globe and over a couple of of the most horny and diverse terrain the enviornment has to provide. Five events perform up the calendar, with the inclusion of a Marathon Rally for the first time since 2001. New for 2020 are amended groups and lessons, paving the model for SSVs (aspect by aspect autos), drivers and groups now in a position to compete in their own class for a dedicated Trophy. T1, T2 and T3 (formerly T3P) Teams remain, the SSVs (formerly T3S) will compete on this newly-created T4 class with the autos now competing in T5. Leg capabilities absorb furthermore been introduced across the total driver and co-driver class World Cups, ensuring crews who absorb retired on a leg can re-open and absorb something to struggle for on subsequent days.
Nasser Al Attiyah and French navigator Mathieu Baumel top the entry list for the Qatari’s dwelling spherical. Al Attiyah has already received the match six instances, as well to the 2011 candidate match for the sequence, and the Toyota Hilux crew shall be gunning for one other victory to kick open their 2020 campaign. After a measured pressure on closing year’s match, Yazeed Al Rajhi shall be aiming to tumble the home favourite and switch one step further up the podium having executed 2d in 2019. This year, the Saudi Arabian will furthermore be partnered by Britain’s Michael Orr within the Overdrive Toyota Hilux. Jakub Przygonski and Timo Gottschalk change autos this season and the Polish/German crew shall be piloting one other Hilux, the Pole hoping for a repeat of his 2018 Qatar victory.
Mohammed Al Meer, with Ukrainian co-driver Tsyro Dmytro, received closing year’s T2 Trophy with maximum capabilities on two of the four rounds. He moves into the tip class for his dwelling match and the Qatari shall be fielding a T1 Chevrolet Buggy. Hungarians Balazs Szalay and Laszlo Bunkozci are support in action in an Opel Grandland X. The Saudi Arabian Nissan Patrol crew of Khaled Ahmed Alferaihi/Wleed Alfiuam and the Qatari/Russian pairing of Abdulla Al-Rabban/Igor Chudaykin spherical out the leading crews within the T1 class.
The T3 class is continuously fiercely fought and Fedor Vorobyev and Kirill Shubin lead the 11-stable enviornment of contenders. The Russians executed closing year’s incorrect nation rally season 2d within the class, received the Baja Trophy for T3 drivers, and kick-started this year’s FIA World Cup for Rotten Country Bajas campaign in beautiful model two weeks ago with a class victory on their dwelling spherical of the sequence. The a success duo, within the brand new OT3 Overdrive car, will on the opposite hand face stiff competition from a variety of nationwide and global crews in Can-Am, Polaris, G-Drive and OT3 machinery. South Racing’s Austin Jones/Kellon Walch will enviornment the most modern T4 version of the Can-Am Maverick.
The high-class facilities at Doha’s Losail Sports Arena continuously is the imperfect for Rally Headquarters with the stadium grounds web web hosting the bivouac. Six selective sections covering 1,444.99 competitive kilometres lay in wait and, in a change this year, the atmospheric Souq Waqif in downtown Doha will host the open and repair ceremonies.
RALLY DATA
Total distance |
2,215.04 km |
Selective portion distance: |
1,444.99 km (65.24%) |
Need of selective sections: |
6 |
LEADING ENTRIES
Nasser Al Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel |
Toyota Hilux |
Yazeed Al Rajhi/Michael Orr |
Toyota Hilux |
Jakub Przygonski/Timo Gottschalk |
Toyota Hilux |
Mohammed Al Meer/Tsyro Dmytro |
Chevrolet Buggy |
Balazs Szalay/Laszlo Bunkozci |
Opel Grandland X |
Khaled Ahmed Alferaihi/Wleed Alfiuam |
Nissan Patrol |
Abdulla Al-Rabban/Igor Chudaykin |
Jeep |
Fedor Vorobyev/Kirill Shubin |
OT3 Overdrive |
Abel Abdulla/Jean-Michel Polato |
G-Drive T3GF |
Aleksey Shmotev/Andrey Rudnitski |
Can-Am Maverick |
MANATEQ QATAR CROSS COUNTRY RALLY – TIMETABLE & MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
Saturday 22 February |
|
Scrutineering, Losail Sports Arena |
From 08: 30 hrs |
Pre-match Press Conference, Souq Waqif |
19: 45 hrs |
Ceremonial Start, Souq Waqif |
Sunday 23 February – Leg 1 |
|
Start of SS1 (171.25 kilometres) |
10: 55 hrs |
First automobile arrives bivouac |
14: 00 hrs |
Monday 24 February – Leg 2 |
|
Start of SS2 (334.25 kilometres) |
08: 50 hrs |
First automobile arrives bivouac |
13: 40 hrs |
Tuesday 25 February – Leg 3 |
|
Start of SS3 (340.28 kilometres) |
08: 40 hrs |
First automobile arrives bivouac |
13: 15 hrs |
Wednesday 26 February – Leg 4 |
|
Start of SS4 (219.79 kilometres) |
08: 35 hrs |
Start of SS5 (124.84 kilometres) |
12: 00 hrs |
First automobile arrives bivouac |
14: 55 hrs |
Thursday 27 February – Leg 5 |
|
Start of SS6 (254.58 kilometres) |
08: 30 hrs |
Parc Fermé, Losail Sports Arena |
11: 50 hrs |
Post match Press Conference, Souq Waqif |
19: 45 hrs |
Prize-Giving and podium ceremony, Souq Waqif |
20: 05 hrs |
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