The inaugural Rally of Nations proved to be more thrilling than the organisers had anticipated. With world class drivers, first-rate cars and fast stages, the rally action was frenetic from the very first stage of Day One to the last on Day Three.

Only after the final two stages of the three-day rally was it confirmed that the Spanish team of Xevi Pons and Dani Sola scored the most points to grab the overall victory in the firstever Rally of Nations in Mexico this past weekend. Both cars running with KAPS Transmissions, proving the reliability needed to complete such a tough race. An event that was previously run as the Rally Corona Mexico as a round of the World Rally Championship from 2004 to 2008, proved challenging to many of the crews participating in this Rally of Nations.

Under sweltering heat and tough gravel stages, crews and machines were pushed to their limits over the three days of competition. Spain’s Sola and France’s Brice Tirabassi fell victim to the tough conditions, but helped their countries in the competition to their podium results. Both members of Team Sweden (P.G. Andersson and Patrik Sandell) retired from the event, ending their Rally of Nations campaign prematurely.

The Spaniards Pons and Sola were victorious in ten of the rally’s eighteen stages, accumulating a total of 1067,5 points. In second place were Austrians Manfred Stohl and Andreas Aigner, who together won on four occasions. At the close of the competition, only 128 points separated the two countries after 290km of nail-biting rally action.

The last place on the podium was scored by France led by Didier Auriol, who, with the help of Brice Tirabassi, managed the fastest time on one of the stages.

Spain, therefore, walked away with the $50,000 first prize! Austrian driver Stohl has no reason to feel defeated: him being the fastest individual driver with a winning total time of 02h 57min 28,7s for the 18 stages, just 14,4 seconds faster than his fellow countryman Aigner.

Stohl took home with him $15,000 for being the fastest driver on each day of the competition. The home team, Team Mexico, suffered mechanical problems with both cars throughout the event. Rodrigo Salgado and Rodrigo Ordonez finished the rally in ninth place overall, to great cheer from their countrymen. This first edition of the Rally of Nations was enjoyed by all those who took part, all of whom expressed their admiration for this new format, one which will undoubtedly draw many more competitors in the future.

The first edition of this event confirms the enormous popularity of the state of Mexico’s roads as a venue for rallies, it having brought together major names from the rallying world, as can be seen from its line-up.

On Day One, Team Spain suffered serious problems, but Pons and Sola both showed great determination to haul their cars to the top of the leaderboard at the end of the rally. In the Individual Drivers’ battle, Stohl took the lead from his team-mate Aigner, who had a flat during Day One Former World Rally Champion Didier Auriol claimed third place overall.

Other nations have already shown interest in next year’s competition, and this will bring even more world class drivers to the Mexican event. It is clear to see that rallying as a sport is growing considerably quickly around the world!

http://www.rallybuzz.com/mexico-rally-2009-video/