Wales Rally GB : Press Releases

The FxPro-sponsored, Cyprus Automobile Association-organised Cyprus Rally returned to the FIA World Rally Championship after a two-year absence but this year in the spring, to avoid the scorching temperatures that were once a trademark of this Mediterranean island event. In stark contrast, this years rally was wet and in places extremely slippery.

Tom Cave, the 17 year-old who became the youngest driver to compete on Wales Rally GB, this afternoon recorded a convincing class win on his first event in the FIA World Rally Championship. Cave and co-driver Gemma Price reached the finish ramp of the event in Cardiff in 30th place overall, with a class lead of almost 15 minutes and additionally, were the second two wheel-drive car to finish the event outright.

Rally Champions*
The final round of the 2008 World Rally Championship in Wales ended with Citroën claiming the 2008 Manufacturers' world title*. This year's crown comes after those previously notched up by the French firm in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and adds a further line to the make's already illustrious record in motor sport.

Multiple Moto GP World Champion Valentino Rossi is Wales Rally GB's recipient of the Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally Award.
The Italian bike supremo was praised for his enthusiasm and consistent driving as he goes into the final two stages of Wales Rally GB in a very credible 14th place.
Rossi has displayed an increasing confidence and affinity with his Ford Focus WRC as each day and each stage progressed, and his place in the regular WRC line-up would certainly be welcomed.

Citroen's Sebastien Loeb is just 1.4s behind Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala in the battle for the Wales Rally GB victory after stage 17.

There are just two stages left to run.

The Frenchman, already crowned this year's World Rally Champion, has been cleared to take risks and battle for the win.

"I am trying really hard, and enjoying the fight," said Loeb. "I can see Jari-Matti's lines but I don't know much help it is - when he's in a ditch I seem to end up in the same one!"

Citroen driver Dani Sordo has confirmed to reporters that he has been ordered to finish Wales Rally GB, even if it means losing a position, so that his team are guaranteed the Manufacturers' Championship in its battle with Ford. As a result, Sebastien Loeb has been cleared by the team to fight for the rally victory with Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala, even if it means taking big risks and potentially crashing out. The gap between Latvala and Loeb is now 2.2s.

Tom Cave, the youngest ever driver to compete in Wales Rally GB, picked up where he left off on the second day of this year's Wales Rally GB, as he extended his lead in the N3 class to more than 12 minutes. The 17 year-old, and co-driver Gemma Price had a few moments on the way but arrived at the day's final service in Swansea in 32nd place overall and first in class.

Simon Moss, British Rally Championship co-ordinator, has told Guy Wilks (Mitsubishi Lancer) that his title rival Mark Higgins is not planning to continue in Rally GB.

If Higgins does not book into parc ferme tonight then Wilks will be crowned British Rally Champion.

If Higgins does restart then Wilks must finish ahead of him tomorrow to win the title.

More news later.

Last night, Friday 6th December, saw Wales Rally GB join forces with Children in Need and raise an impressive £1000, in a rally auction held at the Service Park at SA1 Waterfront in Swansea. Despite the damp weather, fans showed their support and flashed the cash to get their hands on a range of exclusive money-can't-buy rally memorabilia.

NEWSFLASH: Latvala describes his SS13 slip

4: Jari-Matti Latvala/Miika Anttila

"We had a problem 1.5km into the stage on a downhill section. It was under braking and we hit sheet ice. I couldn't do anything and we hit the barrier on my side of the car. Luckily we bounced back into the road so we didn't lose too much time. It's difficult to find the balance between attacking and staying on the road."

Stobart start solid in difficult opening day

Treacherous weather conditions have seen a manic start to the closing round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship with just 49.7 kilometres of competitive distance covered on day 1 of Wales Rally GB. A day which has thrown numerous challenges at WRC crews sees François Duval/Denis Giraudet as the best placed Stobart VK M-Sport Ford crew in seventh position.

Tom Cave leads class after day one of first WRC rally

The youngest ever driver to take part in Wales Rally GB, 17 year-old Tom
Cave completed day one of his first FIA World Rally Championship event by
notching up two class stage wins and the class lead. The youngster and
co-driver Gemma Price dodged what were widely acknowledged as some of the
most difficult conditions Rally GB has seen to arrive at the overnight halt
having climbed from their start position of 94th to 44th place overall.

The destination of the British Rally Championship title hangs in the balance on Wales Rally GB, as all three hopefuls have hit trouble. Mark Higgins (Subaru Impreza) crashed for the second time of the rally on the first stage this morning, Resolfen. David Higgins (Subaru Impreza) is now reported to have rolled near the start of the second stage of today, Halfway. Meanwhile, Guy Wilks (Mitsubishi Lancer) has suffered turbo and clutch problems in Halfway, dropping time and plummeting down the standings.

British Rally Championship contender Mark Higgins is reported to have crashed again on the opening stage of day two, Resolfen. Higgins, who is one of three drivers vying to win the BRC crown on Wales Rally GB, also crashed on day one, and returned to action today under SupeRally regulations. Although he could rejoin the rally tomorrow if his Subaru Impreza is not badly damaged, his chances of beating title rivals Guy Wilks (Mitsubishi Lancer) and David Higgins (Subaru Impreza) are essentially over, unless they join him on the retirements list.

Wales Rally Great Britain (GB), Friday 5 December, day one (SS1-SS8)

Suzuki on the podium at end of day one

On the final event of this year's World Rally Championship, both the Suzuki
SX4 WRC entries are in the points, confirming the solid progress made
throughout the season. P-G Andersson finished the day in third - Suzuki's
best-ever result - while his team mate Toni Gardemeister was 11th after
being slowed by a badly misting-up windscreen.

Rally GB - after stage 3, Myherin 1

Treacherous road conditions greeted drivers in mid-Wales as this 15th and final round of the FIA World Rally Championship began this morning. Following last night's start ceremony next to Cardiff's festive winter wonderland show, competitors discovered winter wasn't quite so wonderful when they entered the remote forests more than 150km north. Snow and ice covered the gravel tracks in many places and organisers last night cancelled more than half today's scheduled 123.68km of competition on safety grounds. More freezing temperatures overnight brought the cancellation of the already shortened 3.67km Hafren speed test, due to open the action this morning, because of ice.

FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE L'AUTOMOBILE

2008 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
WALES RALLY GB

Pre-event FIA Press Conference
4 December 2008

Present:
Matthew Wilson, Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team
Valentino Rossi
Petter Solberg, Subaru World Rally Team
Jari-Matti Latvala, BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
Andreas Aigner, FIA Production Car World Rally Championship
Juho Hänninen, FIA Production Car World Rally Championship

Children are going crazy for Wales Rally GB's 'Kids for a quid'* ticket offer for this year's stage at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday 6 December. Organisers are reminding parents not to miss out on buying tickets during this week's run up to the event, as it could save them as much as £10 per ticket compared to buying them on the day.

Just a few hours south of the Subaru World Rally Team's headquarters, the gravel roads of Wales Rally GB will be the scene of the finale of the 2008 World Rally Championship season on 4 - 7 December. Run on Wales' notoriously tricky forest tracks, mud, rain and fog are sure to feature heavily throughout the weekend.

The 2008 Pirelli-supported Fiesta SportingTrophy International (FSTi) series comes to a close next week on Wales Rally GB and competition couldn't be tighter as seven Ford Fiesta STs line up for the finale. Heading into the sixth and final round of the FSTi, the top-two placed drivers are split by just one championship point while the battle for third is currently a dead heat between two competitors making the most nail biting finish in FSTi history.

After 14 rounds, the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship season comes to a close next week as crews head to the UK for round 15 of 15; Wales Rally GB. This marks a golden milestone for the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team who enter their 50th WRC event after four years involvement within the elite level of the sport.

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team takes its challenge for a third consecutive manufacturers' world title to the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship in Wales next week. The squad must overturn an 11-point deficit on Wales Rally GB (4 - 7 December) with the record-breaking Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, so realistically nothing less than a fourth 1-2 finish of the season from Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen and team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila will suffice.

This year Wales Rally GB, the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship, is raising money for BBC Children in Need through a number of exciting initiatives. One of the highlights of the fundraising activity will be an auction on Friday 5th December, 6.30pm at the Service Park at SA1 Waterfront, Swansea, where fans can bid for the ultimate money-can't-buy Christmas gifts - all in support of the worthwhile charity.

This year sees the second running of the National-status Wales Rally GB Land Rover Challenge, an event which enables the Armed Forces Rally Team to compete on the world's stage and have a chance to showcase its talents to the thousands watching, both on stage side and around the world. It also offers a very wide audience for our sponsors, without whom we would not be able to compete at this, the highest, level of motorsport.

Forget costly pantomimes and expensive Christmas treats, Wales Rally GB's Millennium Stadium special stage on 6 December will provide the ultimate, action-packed entertainment this festive period - and kids can go from just £1*. With two world champions, high-speed action, a chart-topping girl band, stunts, acrobatics and pyrotechnics - all under one roof this family-friendly event has something on offer for everyone.

The List of Entries Received (subject to FIA approval) and Rally Guide 2 are published today on www.walesrallygb.com. Highlights inlcude two current World Champions amongst the 86 car entry, four Championships to be decided in Wales; FIA Manufacturers, FIA Production Car, British and Fiesta SportingTrophy and Welshman Tom Cave preparing to make history as the youngest-ever Rally GB starter.

Valentino Rossi, six times MotoGP world champion and one of the world's best-loved sportsmen, will contest this year's Wales Rally GB - the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship - in a car bearing support for the BBC's Children in Need appeal. To be held from 4th-7th December, WRGB will see Rossi, 29, driving an M-Sport-run Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, co-driven by Carlo Cassina, aged 48.

Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen in their BP Abu Dhabi World Rally Team Ford Focus WRC lead home a Ford 1- 2 on the Pioneer Carrozzeria Rally Japan but third place was sufficient for Sébastien Loeb, co-driven by Daniel Elena in their Citroen Total World Rally Team C4 WRC, to win the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers.

Today, Wales Rally GB, the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship, announced that it has purchased carbon credits in a Welsh forestry project in the heart of Snowdonia, as part of its commitment to sustainability in the local community. This goes above and beyond the three projects it has already supported as part of its carbon emissions offset to achieve CarbonNeutral® event status.

Pop fivesome The Saturdays will wow crowds with a live performance at this year's Wales Rally GB, when the event returns to the Millennium Stadium on Saturday 6 December. The girl group, who have today launched their second single 'Up', will be headliners at the spectacular fire and ice-themed show as part of their nationwide tour.

Sébastien Loeb was on brilliant form to set fastest or joint fastest time on 14 of Corsica's 16 timed special stages to win his "home" rally by the largest margin of any 2008 WRC round - 3 minutes, 24.7 seconds. This was their fourth consecutive victory on Rallye de France and their fifth consecutive win in this year's World Rally Championship - two on consecutive weekends! Together they have now won 46th WRC qualifying rounds.

Wales Rally GB is offering businesses an exciting alternative to the traditional works Christmas party - high-octane corporate hospitality at the UK's final round of the World Rally Championship (4-7 December). The event is working with businesses to create bespoke packages that entertain and provide key networking opportunities with like-minded corporations.

Sébastien Loeb walked away victorious from this year's Repco Rally New Zealand, following a sensational four way battle for the lead, a disastrous penultimate Whaanga Coast stage for the works Ford team - and a second leg bout of team orders. Second, just 17.5 seconds shy of his team mate at the end, was Dani Sordo, making it an emphatic one two for Citroen. It was Loeb's 44th WRC win of his career.

For Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena (Citroen Total C4 WRC) victory in Rallye Deutschland was their seventh consecutive win on this particular event and their seventh of the WRC season so far. This brings their tally of WRC wins to 43. Apart from stalling on a hairpin, they enjoyed a trouble free run and won 14 of the 19 special stages. They now move into a four point lead in the WRC, with five of the 15 events still to run.

For the second time within three months the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team Ford secured another WRC victory, this time in Turkey.

And this time it was a Ford 1-2 for the Finnish pairings of Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen and Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila in identical Ford Focus RS World Rally Cars.

A draft route and itinerary for December’s Wales Rally GB has now been submitted to the FIA and WRC Manufacturer teams for their comments and approval. Subject to all parties agreeing, the final route, timetable and schedule of Special Stages will be confirmed at a formal launch in Cardiff on Wednesday 4th June.

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver Jari-Matti Latvala made history in Sweden by becoming the youngest driver to win a world championship rally.

The 22-year-old Finn and co-driver Miikka Anttila claimed their maiden WRC victory in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen were second and Ford secured a clean sweep of the podium places as Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini were third in a Stobart-entered Focus RS.

That was the year that was…
Figures released this week show Wales Rally GB had one of its most successful years to date in 2007, with overall ticket sales up by over 14 per cent, compared to 2006. Competitor entrant figures were also at a high, with 114 cars taking the starting ramp in Cardiff - the largest entry on the event since 2000, as well as being the biggest start number for any rally in the sixteen-round world championship last year.

Wales Rally GB will mark the retirement of Finland’s Marcus Grönholm from the World Rally Championship with a presentation on Thursday 29 November on the Start Podium in Cardiff. Grönholm will make his 150th World Rally Championship start this week at the final of the FIA World Rally Championship, which is running from 29 November - 2 December - the last professional event of his hugely successful career.

The Suzuki World Contest will be held at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Saturday 1 December before the action-packed 75th anniversary entertainment and indoor special stage of Wales Rally GB. This is in addition to a spectacular stunt driving display from Auto Test champion Paul Swift and a tribute to the late Richard Burns and Colin McRae - all before drivers enter the stadium to compete through a curtain of snow!

Colin McRae’s 1995 World Rally Championship winning Subaru Impreza will be amongst the famous and emotive rally cars at the Ceremonial start of Wales Rally GB in Cardiff’s Cathays Park on Thursday 29th November – its approach heralded by Highlands-born Bag-Piper Martin Hewins who, between 1996 and 2003, travelled world-wide in support of Colin.

Glasgow singing sensation Amy Macdonald is headlining the live music stage at Wales Rally GB, the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship, courtesy of 96.4 FM The Wave and 1170 AM Swansea Sound. Amy has added Friday 30 November to her sell-out UK tour and will take to the stage at the rally’s Service Park at Swansea’s SA1 Waterfront location.

Budding artist Glen McDonald from Great Yarmouth had his dream come true this week, when his design for a rally car’s livery won the annual Art Car competition. The initiative from Wales Rally GB, the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship, gave school children across Britain the chance to have their designs showcased on a world class stage, from 29 November – 2 December.

The List of Entries Received* for Wales Rally GB is published today, Thursday 1st November, detailing 115 teams representing 32 nations and an entry total of 121. Further, Rally Guide 2, a comprehensive guide to all aspects of WRGB including the final route and timetable, can now been downloaded from www.walesrallygb.com

World Rally Championship spectators will strap themselves in for a breathtaking action show with precision driving, spectacular stunts and high speed chases. And that’s only the ‘warm-up’ before international rallying heroes enter Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium to compete on Saturday 1 December, the penultimate day of the UK and final round of the Championship, Wales Rally GB.

Work is well underway on Wales Rally GB’s service park location for 2007 - Swansea SA1’s striking Waterfront complex. The relocation of the service park, which was originally located out of town, will bring the rally up close and personal to spectators, while offering them all the facilities of a city location.

Wales Rally GB, the UK and final round of the FIA World Rally Championship for 2007, is dipping its fingers in green paint for its ‘Art Car’ schools competition. The ‘Art Car’ competition, now in its second year, is being revamped with the introduction of a bio-diesel car as its template vehicle. Children from across Great Britain are being encouraged to hone their artistic talents by designing the livery of the eco-friendly car competing in Wales from 30 November – 2 December.

But world-class sport can be affordable says Wales Rally GB boss.
Many believe that British families are being priced out of watching their football team play live. But Andrew Coe, chief executive of Wales Rally GB (WRGB) says world-class sport need not be so costly, as he announces that Wales Rally GB will be keeping ticket prices low again for 2007.

Useful Contacts

World Rally Championship

Visit Wales

Information on Cardiff

Information on Swansea

Millennium Stadium

Further Information

Audience Statistics