After many years, the Rallye Recalvi Rías Baixas is back in the elite of races, the S-CER. A return that also coincides with one of theThe most evenly matched editions of the championshipwith three drivers at the top and a close fight in all the cups that, for the first time this season, are all together in a single rally.
The Rías will close the first half of the season and will mark the beginning of the summer holidays. Three drivers make a difference with the rest, and from what we have seen in the races held, “Cohete” Suárez with a Skoda Fabia RS Rallye2; Cachón with a Toyota GR Yaris Rallye 2 y Ruiloba with a Citroën C3 Rally2are in another league. The first two arrive at Rías in a tight tie, with the one from Pravia with only two points of advantage over the one from Cangas de Narcea. Behind them is Diego Ruiloba, who in Ourense had a start on the first day, but could have entered the fight and, at least, taken two points.
In Ourense, the three riders offered a great show, riding at high speed and pushing all the lines to the maximum. The Rías will not be any different and the race can be decided by the thousandth of a second, since Only “Rocket” has managed to win two events.
Fans packed the center to see the cars / Pablo Hernández Gamarra
There is no clear favorite. All three are at a great level, although there is no doubt that “Rocket” has an extraand it is to run at the home of his sponsor, Recalvi.
Behind them, a group of good drivers and great cars who want to get into this duel of the roosters. Iván Ares is one of them. This season he is not having much luck with his Hyundai i20N Rallye2, but yesterday before the official start he was very happy with the car and predicted a merciless war to be at the top.
Javier Pardowith another Skoda Fabia RS Rallye 2, achieved the second place in Ourenseand that allows him to enter the list of favourites to win the “Rías”.
We cannot forget either Jorge Cagiao and his Alpine A110. Although he is focused on the Spanish Cup, the Rías is his rally, and in the last few races he is showing an adaptation to the Alpine that allows him to enter the group of contenders for the final victory.
The list of candidates is long, so no one can be distracted even in the slightest.
The cups
The attention of the “Rías” will not only be on the top ranked to see who wins the race. In Vigo, for the first time this season, all the promotion cups will be brought together, and that is another incentive.
In the RTS Junior Scholarship, Unai from the Dehesawith a Peugeot 208 Rallye4, arrives as leader, sharing that first position with the Peugeot Challenge. The Rías is the first round of the Peugeot Rallye Cup Ibérica, which the Portuguese driver arrives with Hugo Lopez as first classified.
In the Clio Trophy Spain Asphalt, Juan Carlos Fernández leads the classification at the wheel of a Renault Clio Rally5. Meanwhile, in the Sandero Eco Cup Spain, Juan Carlos Castro is in first place, with a Dacia Sandero ECO Cup.
More fans at the Rally / Pablo Hernández Gamarra
In the Hyundai i20 N Rallye Cup, Adrián Vázquez sets the pace and will therefore be the rival to beat.
There will be a high level of competition in all the Cups, so there will be excitement, both up front and behind.
Heat, the protagonist
The first two sections of the rally will be held today, Friday. Tomorrow the show moves to Monte Alba, where at 9.30 am the shakedown starts, which for those who don’t know is a test session, which is timed and similar to the race.
In the afternoon the good stuff starts, with 208.31 kilometers of route, of which 51.46 will be controlledPontecaldelas is recovering its essence from a couple of years ago. In the last race, the top finishers were very fast, and in this section there are areas where you can go very fast. However, the drivers and their co-drivers will have to be careful, on the one hand, with the dirt they can find in the ditches and, secondly, with the heat, since they are going to push their cars to an extreme and we have to see how they respond. There will be two passes, at 17:33 and 20:39.
The section of Cotobade-Pontecaldelas is new. There are also fast sections, and tyre wear can play a very important role, especially if the heat is on, which is what is expected. There will also be two passes, at 18:21 and 21:27.
There are four stages where the winner of the rally may not be decided, but some teams may be left without a chance if they try to push as hard as possible.
Security must be at its maximum throughout the event. Fans must stay in designated areas and not go where there is a red line. The Rías fans have always set an example of how to position themselves during a rally.
2024-07-04 21:14:20
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