Bangkok--Mar 1--TOTAL QUALITY PR (THAILAND)
Hold on to your seatbelts and get ready for the ride of your life, because the World Rally Championship is set to rev up the adrenaline with the best rally drivers in the world, lush exotic destinations around the globe, and cars, cars and more cars!
The world’s biggest live spectator sport is back for another season! The World Rally Championship (WRC) promises to bring you around the world in a spectacular whirlwind of car rallies featuring real cars, real roads and real hard driving.
Eschewing the static race circuit for scenic destinations, WRC takes place in 16 countries all around the world, covering five continents in 11 months. From the ice and snow of Sweden to the rugged outback of Australia, each rally is steeped in local flavour as drivers try to overcome some of the harshest environments they have ever faced.
With over 5 billion viewers from all over the world, the WRC has long been recognised as one of the most challenging and exciting motor sports on the face of the planet, in part because the race involves regular and familiar car models. All WRC cars originate from the four-seaters we see on regular roads, with the only difference being that they are souped up for maximum power and handling. From the Subaru Impreza to the Citroen Xsara, to the Mitsubishi Lancer — real cars from all over the world battle it out to be the champion.
The 2005 Season
This season, fans can look forward to some fast and furious action, as Skoda rises quickly in the charts, and both Citroen and Peugeot double their efforts to battle it out for one last time in their swansong to rallying.
Citroen has also snapped up Francois Duval — WRC’s up and coming young star who has really come of age in WRC 2004, having been in contention for victory on several asphalt rallies. A regular points scorer and podium finisher on gravel, the ex-Ford driver is one of the youngest drivers of the WRC, and certainly looks to shake things up in 2005.
In turn, Ford has signed rising Finn Toni Gardemeister, while Peugeot has signed up another ex-Ford driver Markko Martin. With the new driver-team pairings, as well as Citroen and Peugeot upping the intensity of efforts for one last fight for the manufacturers’ title, you can expect WRC 2005 to be one rumbling, rollicking season!
- Corona Rally Mexico —
Preview Episode
Friday, 11 March 2005 @ 8pm
Repeat broadcast on 12 March @ 12am & 6pm
Corona Rally Mexico Premiering
Tuesday, 15 March 2005 @ 11pm
Repeat broadcast on 19 March @ 12noon & 20 March @ 6pm
Only at AXN (UBC 19)
2005 will be Mexico’s second year in world championship rallying, and already, it has won the 2nd spot in the 2004 Rally of the Year Awards. A well-organised, fast and action-packed gravel rally through the mountains and plains around the cities of Guanajuato and Leon, the 2005 rally in Mexico is back with a more compact route that promises just as much excitement, all jam-packed into one tight package.
Based in the Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato mountains, the Corona Rally Mexico’s stages are among the highest on the WRC schedule, with the highest stage in the entire WRC, Ortega-La Esperanza, reaching a staggering 2,740 meters above sea level. Such elevations mean a drop in power of about 20 percent as cars’ engines struggle to breathe in the thin air.
Guanajuato City, the venue for the start of the Corona Rally Mexico, is widely considered to be the most beautiful colonial city in the Americas and owes its fame to rich veins of silver and gold discovered by the Spanish year ago. With old world charm, the city is rich in both tradition and culture, and is among the most captivating and unique cities on the WRC circuit.
Upcoming Rallies — 1st Half Of 2005
Propecia New Zealand — April 8-10
The greenest rally in the series promises to be one of the fastest, with smooth flowing roads that simply allow cars to fly through!
Supermag Rally Italia Sardinia — April 29 — May 1
Quick flowing costal roads with an intriguing mix of medium to fast corners, as well as stages with an infamously generous sprinkling of ‘camel humps’ will give drivers and cars a really good rattling.
Cyprus Rally — May 13-15
It’s a twisty, steep ride in the hot dusty summer of Cyprus as tight bends and rocky mountain roads keep speeds down for the hassled drivers.
Rally of Turkey — June 3-5
Drivers battle the tough gravel roads of Turkey as cars take a severe beating in one of the most difficult rallies in the series.
Acropolis Rally Greece — June 24-26
This rally in the land of the Gods is notorious for leaving cars less than whole, as cars get a seriously bumpy ride in the rough roads and unforgiving heat of Larnia, Greece.
Rally Argentina — July 15-17
There’s plenty of spectacular water splashes in this rally as cars risk water logging to make their way across the rivers of Argentina.
Mark these rally dates down and check out your local listings for when the broadcast of the next rally is set to blow you away, only on AXN — the Home of World Rally Championship.
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