Spain is the country where the N5 class was born, and it is here that these cars are most common. Of the total of 91 N5 cars currently on the world’s rally stages, over a third (37) are located here. N5 cars have the green light in all national and regional championships in Spain, and there are plenty of them in this southern European country. Both on asphalt and on gravel. Each region and archipelago has its own championships, and even more than one. There are particularly many N5 drivers in the regions of Galicia and Castile in the north, where the RMC Motorsport base is located. In the most important Spanish rally championship (Spain Superchampionship), for example, 6 different N5 cars could be seen this year. In Spain, N5 cars are not only used in the rally discipline – they take part in the Spanish Rally Cross Championship (CERX), where the N5 is the main class. The N5 can also be found in the Spanish hillclimbs competitions.
Spain is the country where you are likely to see all kinds of N5 chassis – Peugeot 208 and 308, Toyota Yaris XP130 and XP210, Ford Fiesta MK7 and MK8, Renault Clio, Nissan Micra, Citroen DS3 and C3, Hyundai i20, Škoda Fabia, VW Polo MK3 and MK5, Kia Rio.
The N5 cars prepared in the RMC Motorsport base leave Spain for countries such as Italy, Lithuania, Finland, Peru and Ecuador. Currently, RMC Motorsport, together with the Spanish Motorsport Federation, is working intensively with the FIA to obtain international recognition and homologation of the N5 cars and to allow these cars to be used in competitions organized by the FIA. At the same time, the N5 cars are constantly being improved, and the biggest changes are the aforementioned new water-cooled and much more reliable turbine already used by the Lithuanian Škoda Fabia N5 cars, as well as the suspension geometry of the N5 cars in search of more grip, especially on asphalt.
Roberto Mendez, founder of RMC Motorsport, is extremely pleased with the progress of the N5 in Lithuania and is delighted that, together with Martynas Samsonas, they have managed to develop a reliable, very fast car that is capable of winning. Also this year, the new Ford Fiesta MK8 N5 and Toyota Yaris N5 (XP210) were introduced, and next year the updated Škoda Fabia N5, Peugeot 208 N5 and Hyundai i20 N5 models are due to see the light of day. The Spaniards’ plans for next year include the aforementioned FIA homologation and a move closer to Rally2 cars with updated chassis and other improvements.
