Autosportfoto

New opening stage in Argentina

Organisers of YPF Rally Argentina [26 - 29 april] have altered the event itinerary to introduce a new street stage in the heart of host town Villa Carlos Paz.

The new stage, Super Especial Villa Carlo Paz, is 1.9km long and will run on Thursday evening [26 April] as the opening stage of the rally. It replaces the Ciudad de Cordoba stage, 50km away in downtown Cordoba, that cannot be run this year due to roadworks.

The new stage starts in front of the Villa Carlos Paz city hall and is a mixed-surface challenge, featuring asphalt and gravel sections, roundabouts and jumps. Based loosely on the town's street stage that used to feature in the itinerary, it has been updated to include new roads running alongside the city's San Roque Lake.

"The reason for the change is that road works in Cordoba are affecting about 75 per cent of the area we were going to use, and that will restrict the space and comfort of the spectators," a rally spokesperson explained.

"When looking for a replacement, there were options within Cordoba, but we found we could take advantage of this change and bring the action to Carlos Paz to benefit us all - gathering everything in this city and making it truly the heart of the rally."

Zdroj: wrc.com