Affectionately known as the Rally of 10,000 Corners, Corsica is renowned for its tight and twisty roads and is a hugely demanding classic asphalt rally. The weather is also a significant factor, the mountainous terrain and island location making conditions potentially unpredictable.

While the start and finish of the 2015 Tour de Corse are in Ajaccio on the west coast, the route covers most of the island from its central base in Corte. Long stages are also the name of the game and, with the exception of the 16.74 kilometre Power Stage, none of the competitive tests is less than 29 kilometres, the longest stretching to just over 48 kilometres. 

While the FIA World Rally Championship titles have provisionally been secured by Sébastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia and Volkswagen Motorsport, crews in all the support championships will be looking to bring in a haul of top points as their 2015 campaigns head towards their climax. In the FIA WRC 2 Championship category - which has attracted 17 entrants - a number of drivers will be looking to close the gap to the category leaders, the top three having elected to sit out the Tour de Corse. Thirteen competitors are also registered in the FIA WRC 3 Championship, 11 of whom are also fighting for FIA Junior WRC Championship honours. In this single-make formula, Frenchman Quentin Gilbert also has a mathematical chance to seal the Junior title on home soil. The R-GT Cup contenders also return to WRC action, François Delecour and Romain Dumas topping the category.

THE 2015 ROUTE

Straight from the Thursday night Parc Fermé in Ajaccio, Friday’s route covers three stages and 109.24 competitive kilometres before the overnight halt in Bastia, in the far north of the island. On Saturday, crews repeat two of those stages and then tackle the longest stage of the event, the 48.46 kilometre run from Muracciole to Col de Sorba. They then head south to Porto-Vecchio for the overnight halt. Sunday is the shortest day covering another three stages en route to the finish in Ajaccio.

RALLY DATA

MEDIA ACCREDITATION

The Accreditation Centre is located at the Université de Corse Pasquale Paoli – Campus Mariani – 20250 Corte. The opening hours are:

TOUR DE CORSE TIMETABLE AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES ORGANISED BY THE FIA

FIA PRESS CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE

ADDITIONAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES 

‘Meet the Crews’: On Friday and Saturday the top three drivers will attend a ‘Meet the Crews’ session for media and fans. This will take place on the WRC Stage at the earliest opportunity during the 48’ service.

Autograph Signing Session: On Friday and Saturday selected crews will be available for a 15 minute autograph session. This will take place in the service park during the end of day service at the teams’ service areas.

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS

The provisional classifications for all the WRC Championships can be found on the following link:

http://www.fia.com/events/world-rally-championship/season-2015/standings

STAGE CHART

Shortly after the finish of the event, a downloadable stage chart showing the progressive positions of the leading crews during the rally will be available. This is copyright free for editorial purposes and available at the following link:

http://www.fia.com/events/world-rally-championship/season-2015/stage-chart-9