2019 Rally Australia
{{short description|28th edition of Rally Australia}}
{{Infobox rally
|name = 2019 Rally Australia
|native_name = 28. Kennards Hire Rally Australia
|round = 14
|season_no = 14
|championship = 2019 World Rally Championship
|previous_round = 2019 Rally Catalunya
|next_round =
|country = {{AUS}}
|image = 275px
|caption = Rally Australia marks the end of the 2019 season.
|rallybase = Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
|start = Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
|finish = Coramba, New South Wales
|startdate = 14
|enddate = 17 November 2019
|stages = 25
|stagekm = 324.53
|stagekm_note = {{cite web|url=https://rallyaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Rally-Australia-Rally-Guide-2-2019.pdf|title=rally guide 2|work=rallyaustralia.com.au|publisher=Rally Australia|access-date=15 October 2019}}
|transportkm = 759.47
|overallkm = 1,084.00
|surface = Gravel
|driver1 =
|codriver1 =
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|time1 =
|driver2Pro =
|codriver2Pro =
|team2Pro =
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|driver2 =
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|powerstage_driver =
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|cancel1 = Rally
|reason1 = bushfires
|crewsreg = 26
|teamsstart =
|teamsfinish =
}}
The 2019 Rally Australia (also known as Kennards Hire Rally Australia 2019) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was scheduled to be held over four days between 14 and 17 November 2019.{{cite news|url=https://www.fia.com/news/fia-announces-world-motor-sport-council-decisions-11|title=FIA announces World Motor Sport Council decisions|work=fia.com|publisher=Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|date=12 October 2018|access-date=12 October 2018}} The event was cancelled because of an ongoing bushfire emergency in the area.{{cite news|url=https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/11/12/rally-australia-cancelled-due-to-bushfires/|title=UPDATE: Rally Australia cancelled due to bushfires|first=Tom|last=Howard|work=speedcafe.com|publisher=Speedcafe|date=12 November 2019|access-date=12 November 2019}} The event was to mark the twenty-eighth running of Rally Australia and was the final round of the 2019 World Rally Championship, WRC-2 Pro class and World Rally Championship-2. The 2019 event would have been based in Coffs Harbour in New South Wales, and contested over twenty-five special stages with a total a competitive distance of {{convert|324.53|km|mi|2|abbr=on}}. Rally Australia will not be featured in the 2020 championship.{{cite news|url=https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/09/27/australia-drops-off-wrc-calendar-in-2020/|title=Australia drops off WRC calendar in 2020|first=Daniel|last=Herrero|work=speedcafe.com|date=27 September 2019|access-date=28 September 2019|publisher=Speedcafe}}
Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila were the defending rally winners. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the defending manufacturers' winners.{{cite news|url=https://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/november-2018/sunday-in-australia/page/5908--12-12-.html|title=Sunday in Australia: Six of the best for Ogier|work=wrc.com|publisher=WRC Promoter GmbH|date=18 November 2018|access-date=15 October 2019}} Alberto Heller and José Diaz were the defending rally winners in the World Rally Championship-2 category, but did not participate in the event.{{cite news|url=https://www.wrc.com/en/wrc-2/news/2018/november-2018/wrc-2-australia-sunday/page/5909--51-51-.html|title=WRC 2 in Australia: Alberto Heller Seals Comfortable Win|work=wrc.com|publisher=WRC Promoter GmbH|date=18 November 2018|access-date=18 November 2018}}
As a result of the rally's cancellation, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT became the manufacturers' champions, while Pierre-Louis Loubet and Vincent Landais won the divers' and co-drivers' titles respectively in the WRC-2 class.{{cite news|url=https://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/november-2019/hyundai-title/page/6827--12-12-.html|title=Hyundai celebrates title|work=wrc.com|publisher=WRC Promoter GmbH|date=13 November 2019|access-date=13 November 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.wrc.com/en/wrc-2/news/2019/november-2019/loubet-title/page/6832--51-51-.html|title=Loubet lifts WRC 2 title|work=wrc.com|publisher=WRC Promoter GmbH|date=14 November 2019|access-date=15 November 2019}}
Background
=Championship standings prior to the event=
Newly crowned champions Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja led the both drivers' and co-drivers' championships with a thirty-six-point ahead of Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul. Defending world champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were third, a further ten points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT held an eighteen-point lead over Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT.{{cite news|url=https://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/october-2019/spain-wrc-day-3/page/6789--12-12-.html|title=Sunday in Spain: Tänak takes WRC title|work=wrc.com|publisher=WRC|date=27 October 2019|access-date=28 October 2019}}
In the World Rally Championship-2 Pro standings, newly crowned champions Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen led by sixty-one points in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively. Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen were second, with Gus Greensmith and Elliott Edmondson further eight points behind in third. In the manufacturers' championship, manufacturers' champion Škoda Motorsport led M-Sport Ford WRT by seventy-four points, with Citroën Total over a hundred points behind in third.{{cite news|url=https://www.wrc.com/en/wrc-2/news/2019/october-2019/spain-wrc-2-day-3/page/6788--51-51-.html|title=Sunday in WRC 2: Heartbreak for Loubet|work=wrc.com|publisher=WRC|date=27 October 2019|access-date=28 October 2019}}
In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, Pierre-Louis Loubet and Vincent Landais led the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by three points respectively. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak were second, while Benito Guerra were third in the drivers' standings and Yaroslav Fedorov in the co-drivers' standings.
=Entry list=
The following crews were due to entered into the rally. The event was scheduled to open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2, WRC-2 Pro and privateer entries not registered to score points in any championship. A total of twenty-six entries were received, with twelve crews were scheduled to enter with World Rally Cars and three were scheduled to enter the World Rally Championship-2. This was later reduced to eleven World Rally Cars when Citroën withdrew a planned entry for Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen.{{cite news|url=https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/146916/ostberg-dropped-from-oneoff-citroen-wrc-outing|title=Ostberg dropped from one-off Citroen WRC outing|last=Benyon|first=Jack|work=autosport.com|publisher=Motorsport Network|date=31 October 2019|access-date=4 November 2019}}
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"
! No. ! Driver ! Co-driver ! Entrant ! Car ! Tyre |
| style="background-color:#EAECF0; text-align:center" colspan="6" | World Rally Car entries |
| align="center" | 1
| {{flagicon|FRA}} Sébastien Ogier | {{flagicon|FRA}} Julien Ingrassia | {{flagicon|FRA}} Citroën Total WRT | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| align="center" | 3
| {{flagicon|FIN}} Teemu Suninen | {{flagicon|FIN}} Jarmo Lehtinen | {{flagicon|GBR}} M-Sport Ford WRT | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| align="center" | 4
| {{flagicon|FIN}} Esapekka Lappi | {{flagicon|FIN}} Janne Ferm | {{flagicon|FRA}} Citroën Total WRT | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| align="center" | 5
| {{flagicon|GBR}} Kris Meeke | nowrap | {{flagicon|GBR}} Sebastian Marshall | nowrap | {{flagicon|JPN}} Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| align="center" | 6
| {{flagicon|ESP}} Dani Sordo | {{flagicon|ESP}} Carlos del Barrio | {{flagicon|KOR}} Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | nowrap | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| align="center" | 8
| {{flagicon|EST}} Ott Tänak | {{flagicon|EST}} Martin Järveoja | {{flagicon|JPN}} Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| align="center" | 10
| {{flagicon|FIN}} Jari-Matti Latvala | {{flagicon|FIN}} Miikka Anttila | {{flagicon|JPN}} Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| align="center" | 11
| {{flagicon|BEL}} Thierry Neuville | {{flagicon|BEL}} Nicolas Gilsoul | {{flagicon|KOR}} Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| align="center" | 18
| {{flagicon|IRE}} Craig Breen | {{flagicon|IRE}} Paul Nagle | {{flagicon|KOR}} Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| align="center" | 20
| {{flagicon|NZL}} Hayden Paddon | {{flagicon|NZL}} John Kennard | {{flagicon|GBR}} M-Sport Ford WRT | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| align="center" | 33
| {{flagicon|GBR}} Elfyn Evans | {{flagicon|GBR}} Scott Martin | {{flagicon|GBR}} M-Sport Ford WRT | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| style="background-color:#EAECF0; text-align:center" colspan="6" | World Rally Championship-2 entries |
| align="center" | 41
| nowrap | {{flagicon|FRA}} Pierre-Louis Loubet | {{flagicon|FRA}} Vincent Landais | {{flagicon|FRA}} Pierre-Louis Loubet{{efn|Entry operated by Qatar 2C World Rally Team.}} | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| align="center" | 42
| {{flagicon|MEX}} Benito Guerra | {{flagicon|ESP}} Daniel Cué | {{flagicon|MEX}} Benito Guerra{{efn|Entry operated by Race Seven.}} | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| align="center" | 45
| {{flagicon|IND}} Gaurav Gill | {{flagicon|AUS}} Glenn Macneall | {{flagicon|IND}} Gaurav Gill | align="center" | {{Michelin}} |
| colspan="6"|Source:{{cite news|url=https://rallyaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/RA19-Entrylist_FIA-approved-15102019-Amended-071119.pdf|title=Rally Australia 2019 Entry List|work=rallyaustralia.com.au|publisher=Rally Australia|date=7 November 2019|access-date=10 November 2019}} |
|---|
=Route=
Only five stages from the 2018 event were scheduled to return to the 2019 itinerary. Two of these were due to run in opposite direction to the 2018 rally.
==Planned itinerary==
All dates and times are AEDT (UTC+11).
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"
! Date ! Time ! No. ! Stage name ! Distance |
| nowrap | 14 November
| align="center" | 8:00 | align="center" | — | Eastbank | align="center" | 5.09 km |
|---|
| style="background-color:#EAECF0; text-align:center" colspan="5" | Leg 1 — 125.88 km |
| rowspan="2" | 14 November
| align="center" | 16:30 | align="center" | SS1 | Destination NSW SSS19 1 | align="center" | 1.33 km |
| align="center" | 16:40
| align="center" | SS2 | Destination NSW SSS19 2 | align="center" | 1.33 km |
| rowspan="8" | 15 November
| align="center" | 9:00 | align="center" | SS3 | Coldwater19 1 | align="center" | 16.78 km |
| align="center" | 9:48
| align="center" | SS4 | Sherwood 1 | align="center" | 26.68 km |
| align="center" | 10:51
| align="center" | SS5 | Kookaburra Rd 1 | align="center" | 16.82 km |
| align="center" | 13:36
| align="center" | SS6 | Coldwater19 2 | align="center" | 16.78 km |
| align="center" | 14:24
| align="center" | SS7 | Sherwood 2 | align="center" | 26.68 km |
| align="center" | 15:27
| align="center" | SS8 | Kookaburra Rd 2 | align="center" | 16.82 km |
| align="center" | 17:00
| align="center" | SS9 | Destination NSW SSS19 3 | align="center" | 1.33 km |
| align="center" | 17:10
| align="center" | SS10 | Destination NSW SSS19 4 | align="center" | 1.33 km |
| style="background-color:#EAECF0; text-align:center" colspan="5" | Leg 2 — 116.99 km |
| rowspan="9" | 16 November
| align="center" | 8:33 | align="center" | SS11 | Northbank Reverse 1 | align="center" | 8.00 km |
| align="center" | 9:12
| align="center" | SS12 | Utungun Reverse 1 | align="center" | 7.54 km |
| align="center" | 10:08
| align="center" | SS13 | Argents Hill Reverse 1 | align="center" | 13.13 km |
| align="center" | 10:51
| align="center" | SS14 | Welshs Creek Reverse 1 | align="center" | 28.83 km |
| align="center" | 12:14
| align="center" | SS15 | Raleigh | align="center" | 1.99 km |
| align="center" | 15:08
| align="center" | SS16 | Argents Hill Reverse 2 | align="center" | 13.13 km |
| align="center" | 16:00
| align="center" | SS17 | Welshs Creek Reverse 2 | align="center" | 28.83 km |
| align="center" | 17:13
| align="center" | SS18 | Northbank Reverse 2 | align="center" | 8.00 km |
| align="center" | 17:52
| align="center" | SS19 | Utungun Reverse 2 | align="center" | 7.54 km |
| style="background-color:#EAECF0; text-align:center" colspan="5" | Leg 3 — 81.66 km |
| rowspan="6" | 17 November
| align="center" | 7:03 | align="center" | SS20 | Mount Coramba 1 | align="center" | 19.05 km |
| align="center" | 7:47
| align="center" | SS21 | Lower Bucca 1 | align="center" | 11.47 km |
| align="center" | 8:38
| align="center" | SS22 | Wedding Bells19 1 | align="center" | 10.31 km |
| align="center" | 11:06
| align="center" | SS23 | Mount Coramba 2 | align="center" | 19.05 km |
| align="center" | 11:50
| align="center" | SS24 | Lower Bucca 2 | align="center" | 11.47 km |
| align="center" | 13:08
| align="center" | SS25 | nowrap | Wedding Bells19 2 | align="center" | 10.31 km |
| style="background-color:#EAECF0; text-align:center" colspan="5" | Source: |
=Bushfire emergency=
File:Fire in Lithgow.jpg in New South Wales led to the cancellation of the rally.]]
In the week before the rally, the New South Wales Mid North Coast region was devastated by unprecedented bushfires. Organisers of the rally announced plans to run the event over a shortened route if conditions deteriorated further, while organisers of the Australian Rally Championship — of which Rally Australia was planned to be the final round — cancelled the series' involvement in the rally.{{cite news|url=https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/11/10/rally-aus-hopeful-of-shortened-wrc-finale-amid-bushfire-threat/|title=Rally Aus hopeful of shortened WRC finale amid bushfire threat|first=Tom|last=Howard|work=speedcafe.com|publisher=Speedcafe|date=10 November 2019|access-date=10 November 2019}} A revised itinerary featuring {{convert|90|km|mi|1|abbr=on}} of competitive stages was submitted to the FIA for approval.{{cite news|url=https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/11/12/rally-australia-reveals-revised-route-proposal/|title=Rally Australia reveals revised route proposal|first=Tom|last=Howard|work=speedcafe.com|publisher=Speedcafe|date=12 November 2019|access-date=12 November 2019}} However, the rally was cancelled eventually.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/november-2019/australia-cancelled/page/6826--12-12-.html|title=Rally Australia Cancelled|work=wrc.com|publisher=WRC|date=12 November 2019|access-date=12 November 2019}}
Report
=World Rally Cars=
==Championship standings==
- Bold text indicates 2019 World Champions.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%;" | ||
| rowspan="2" | {{Tooltip|Pos.|Position}}
! rowspan="7" style="width:5px;"| ! colspan="3" | Drivers' championships ! rowspan="7" style="width:5px;"| ! colspan="3" | Co-drivers' championships ! rowspan="7" style="width:5px;"| ! colspan="3" | Manufacturers' championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| Move
!Driver !Points !Move !Co-driver !Points !Move !Manufacturer !Points | ||
| align="center" | 1
| 10px | align="center" | 263 | 10px | align="center" | 263 | 10px | nowrap | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | align="center" | 380 | ||
| align="center" | 2
| 10px | align="center" | 227 | 10px | align="center" | 227 | 10px | nowrap | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | align="center" | 362 | ||
| align="center" | 3
| 10px | align="center" | 217 | 10px | align="center" | 217 | 10px | align="center" | 284 | ||
| align="center" | 4
| 10px | nowrap | Andreas Mikkelsen | align="center" | 102 | 10px | nowrap | Anders Jæger-Amland | align="center" | 102 | 10px | align="center" | 218 | ||
| align="center" | 5
| 10px | align="center" | 102 | 10px | align="center" | 102 | |
=World Rally Championship-2 Pro=
==Championship standings==
- Bold text indicates 2019 World Champions.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%;" | ||
| rowspan="2" | {{Tooltip|Pos.|Position}}
! rowspan="7" style="width:5px;"| ! colspan="3" | Drivers' championships ! rowspan="7" style="width:5px;"| ! colspan="3" | Co-drivers' championships ! rowspan="7" style="width:5px;"| ! colspan="3" | Manufacturers' championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| Move
!Driver !Points !Move !Co-driver !Points !Move !Manufacturer !Points | ||
| align="center" | 1
| 10px | align="center" | 206 | 10px | align="center" | 206 | 10px | nowrap| Škoda Motorsport | align="center" | 333 | ||
| align="center" | 2
| 10px | align="center" | 145 | 10px | align="center" | 145 | 10px | nowrap|M-Sport Ford WRT | align="center" | 259 | ||
| align="center" | 3
| 10px | align="center" | 137 | 10px | nowrap|Elliott Edmondson | align="center" | 137 | 10px | align="center" | 145 | ||
| align="center" | 4
| 10px | align="center" | 115 | 10px | align="center" | 79 | | ||
| align="center" | 5
| 10px | nowrap| Łukasz Pieniążek | align="center" | 74 | 10px | align="center" | 62 | |
=World Rally Championship-2=
==Championship standings==
- Bold text indicates 2019 World Champions.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%;" |
| rowspan="2" | {{Tooltip|Pos.|Position}}
! rowspan="7" style="width:5px;"| ! colspan="3" | Drivers' championships ! rowspan="7" style="width:5px;"| ! colspan="3" | Co-drivers' championships |
|---|
| Move
!Driver !Points !Move !Co-driver !Points |
| align="center" | 1
| 10px | align="center" | 91 | 10px | align="center" | 91 |
| align="center" | 2
| 10px | nowrap | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | align="center" | 88 | 10px | nowrap | Maciej Szczepaniak | align="center" | 88 |
| align="center" | 3
| 10px | align="center" | 75 | 10px | align="center" | 73 |
| align="center" | 4
| 10px | align="center" | 73 | 10px | align="center" | 69 |
| align="center" | 5
| 10px | align="center" | 64 | 10px | align="center" | 62 |
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.rallyaustralia.com.au/}} {{in lang|en}}
- 2019 Rally Australia in [https://www.ewrc-results.com/final/54473-kennards-hire-rally-australia-2019/ e-wrc website]
- The [http://www.wrc.com official website] of the World Rally Championship
{{Rally succession box
| Year_of_rally = 2019
| Name_of_rally = 2019 Rally Australia
| Previous_rally_in_season = 2019 Rally Catalunya
| Next_rally_in_season = 2020 Monte Carlo Rally (2020)
| Previous_year's_rally = 2018 Rally Australia
| Next_year's_rally = TBD
}}
{{2019 World Rally Championship season}}
{{Rally Australia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rally Australia, 2019}}
Category:2019 in Australian motorsport