Rally de España-Catalunya 2017: dates, route, timetable, entries and spectator areas

Spain becomes this week the epicentre of the WRC as the 53rd edition of the Rally de Catalunya-Costa Daurada takes place. The championship comes to our country with more excitement than in previous years, as the title remains open: Sébastien Ogier leads with 177 points, but Thierry Neuville is lurking with 160 with three rounds still to be contested.

The rally will have its logistics base in Salou and will run between 6 and 8 October. The organisers have once again opted for a mixed route of gravel and asphalt made up of 19 stages totalling 312.02 km against the clock. One of this year’s negative changes is that the Montjuïc urban stage disappears, which gave fans a good opportunity to get close to the cars and drivers of the championship.

The shakedown of the event takes place on Thursday in Salou. The real rally starts on Friday, when the stages of Caseres, Bot and Terra Alta are run, which were already used last year and mix gravel and asphalt. The Saturday and Sunday stages are entirely asphalt and come with new features such as the passage through Savallà.

This is the detailed route of the event with the start times for the stages:

Thursday, 5 October 2017

• SD Shakedown Salou (gravel & asphalt) 2.97 km

Friday, 6 October 2017

• SS1 Caseres 1 (gravel) 12.50 km 9:53 h.
• SS2 Bot 1 (gravel) 6.50 km 10:21 h.
• SS3 Terra Alta 1 (gravel & asphalt) 38.95 km 10:56 h.
• SS4 Caseres 2 (gravel) 12.50 km 15:19 h.
• SS5 Bot 2 (gravel) 6.50 km 15:47 h.
• SS6 Terra Alta 2 (gravel & asphalt) 38.95 km 16:22 h.

Saturday, 7 October 2017

• SS7 El Montmell 1 (asphalt) 24.40 km 8:00 h.
• SS8 El Pont d’Armentera 1 (asphalt) 21.29 km 9:07 h.
• SS9 Savallà 1 (asphalt) 14.12 km 9:54 h.
• SS10 El Montmell 2 (asphalt) 24.40 km 13:08 h.
• SS11 El Pont d’Armentera 2 (asphalt) 21.29 km 14:15 h.
• SS12 Savallà 2 (asphalt) 14.12 km 15:02 h.
• SS13 Salou (asphalt) 2.24 km 17:00 h.

Sunday, 8 October 2017

• SS14 L’Albiol 1 (asphalt) 6.28 km 7:00 h.
• SS15 Riudecanyes 1 (asphalt) 16.35 km 7:38 h.
• SS16 Santa Marina 1 (asphalt) 14.50 km 8:38 h.
• SS17 L’Albiol 2 (asphalt) 6.28 km 10:14 h.
• SS18 Riudecanyes 2 (asphalt) 16.35 km 10:53 h.
• SS19 Santa Marina 2 (asphalt) (Power Stage) 14.50 km 12:18 h.

Spectator and television areas

Access to the stages of this event is free and, as usual, many spectators will have the chance to get close to the stages to follow the drivers. If that is your case, we advise you to check the spectator information published on the RACC website, where you can find very detailed information on access and safe spectator areas.

Remember that safety is key in the WRC and that the organisers will be forced to cancel stages if they find spectators badly positioned, so we recommend you follow these guidelines to enjoy a good day of rally and not spoil the fun for everyone.

For those who cannot get to the stages, there is the option of following the event on Movistar+, which will broadcast highlights at the end of each day and one live stage each day, including the Power Stage that closes the event on Sunday morning.

Entry list

The entry list is made up of 72 crews, 16 of which are in the WRC category. Sébastien Ogier will lead the M-Sport team, which will also include Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans. Dani Sordo will be one of the big attractions for the Spanish public. The Cantabrian will be at the wheel of his Hyundai i20 WRC together with Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen, recently signed by the Asian brand.

The Citroën C3 WRCs will be in the hands of Kris Meeke, Stéphane Lefebvre and Khalid Al Qassimi, while the Yaris WRCs of Toyota will be driven by Jari-Matti Latvala, Juho Hänninen and Esapekka Lappi.

In this link you can consult the full entry list.