Motorsport: Wales in the fast lane

Nov 29 2006 Western Mail

The World Rally Championship arrives tomorrow with the start of Wales Rally GB. Paul Evans reports

NO FEWER than 118 cars - the biggest entry of the entire 2006 FIA World Rally Championship - will cross the start ramp tomorrow as the final round of the series, Wales Rally GB, begins from outside the Millennium Stadium on Westgate Street at 7.30pm.

The Caldicot Male Voice Choir and dignitaries from the Welsh Assembly Government - which has sponsored the event since 2003 and agreed to keep Britain's round of the WRC in Wales until at least 2011 - will give the world's top rally drivers a glittering send-off as they embark on what could be the most spectacular rally in years.

With Sebastien Loeb and Ford already crowned World Drivers' and Manufacturers' Champions, the likes of former World Champions Marcus Gronholm (Ford) and Petter Solberg (Subaru) will be fighting for honour - and not wanting their status undermined by the likes of up-and-coming young superstars Xavier Pons, Dani Sordo (both in Citroens), Mikko Hirvonen (Ford) and Mark Higgins (Ford), who lives in Carno, Powys.

Having won the last four Wales Rally GBs, Solberg has had his worst season ever. Partnered by co-driver Phil Mills, from Newtown in Powys, they were hoping to win the world title for a second time, yet a catalogue of disasters have prevented them winning a single rally so far in 2006.

For them, second place is first loser, and they've achieved that three times this year - in Mexico, Argentina and Australia - so there is no better place than his home rally for Phil to end a bad season on a high.

'Wales Rally GB is very nostalgic for me because of the results, but it's got a different feel to any other round on the calendar that's difficult to put into words,' says Phil.

'You've got the spectators wrapped up in their woolly hats, it's dark and cold, especially this year now it's back in its original date on the calendar. You can expect ice and mud up to your knees but the atmosphere is very special. I have a lot of good memories of the event.'

After tomorrow's ceremonial start, Wales Rally GB heads into the forests for three days of flat-out action in south, west and mid Wales. Friday's stages take crews to the Vale of Neath, with speed tests in Resolven and Rheola - the latter of which includes the stunning Walters Arena section. Saturday's second leg heads for the Crychan, Epynt and Halfway stages north of Brecon, while Sunday offers a nasty sting in the tail with stages in Brechfa and Trawscoed forests in Carmarthenshire. A little easier to get to is the Swansea Rally Centre at Felindre. Just off junction 46 of the M4, this will become rallying's answer to a Formula 1 paddock over the weekend, where professional teams like Kronos Total Citro‘n, BP-Ford and Subaru, OMV Peugeot, Stobart VK M-Sport Ford and Red Bull Skoda will repair their £400,000 rally cars and pamper their millionaire drivers.

But Britain's biggest sporting event is not just for the Michael Schumachers of the forest. In the same service area will be the likes of Gwyndaf Evans, from Dinas Mawddwy, and other leading competitors from the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship. There will also be amateur drivers like England's Gavin Cox, who is contesting his 25th consecutive Rally GB, and Kevin Davies, the 22-year-old trainee auto technician from Llanfihangel-Ar-Arth who is contesting the event for the second time and who is one of Wales' brightest rally hopes for the future.

In fact, this year's rally entry bodes well for the future of rallying, as it contains all the world's best up-and-coming drivers. Matthew Wilson, the 19-year-old son of Malcolm Wilson - the former British Rally Champion and boss of the Ford Rally Team - will do the event in a 300bhp four-wheel drive M-Sport Ford Focus, while Anton AlŽn, the 23-year-old son of former World Rally Champion Markku AlŽn, is making his Wales Rally GB debut in a Subaru. Watch out too for 17-year-old Norwegian sensation Andreas Mikkelsen, who won the Coracle Stages Rally in mid-Wales earlier this year in a Ford Focus.

Wales Rally GB is also the final round of the FIA Junior World Rally Championship and seven drivers, including Britons Guy Wilks and Kris Meeke, are still in contention for the title.

The highlight of the event will be on Saturday night at the Millennium Stadium, when cars fly onto a figure-of-eight course and power-slide their way around the only indoor stage in world.

The stadium centrepiece will include, for the first time, the MPH Rally Show, where two teams of celebrities go head-to-head in a series of games and races, including James Bond-style parking, two-wheel driving, half car racing, human skittles, donut challenge and car football. Celebrities will include racing drivers Jason Plato and James Thompson, England and Glamorgan cricketer Robert Croft, TV presenters Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson and Dominic Littlewood, Travis drummer Neil Primrose, BBC Radio Wales presenter Roy Noble OBE, former British Rally Champion David Llewellin and MP Peter Hain, the Secretary of State for Wales and Northern Ireland.

As well as the 007-esque stunt driving, the show includes the flying Rocketman, who dons his jet pack for his first UK appearance.

It's in aid of a good cause too, as the celebrities will be donating their prize money to the Richard Burns Foundation - a registered charity that works to motivate and support young people whose lives are affected by serious illness and injury, as inspired by British ex-World Rally Champion Richard Burns, who died last year from a brain tumour, aged 34.

'As a big fan of world rally, and in particular Wales Rally GB, it's great to be involved with the show at the Millennium Stadium,' said racing driver Jason Plato.

'More importantly it's great to be involved in such a worthwhile cause. I was mates with Burnsie and I always enjoyed finding out from him what was going on in the world of rallying. It's an amazing sport and now I'm going to be at Wales Rally GB and be able to watch these legends at play and be involved myself. It's going to be a lot of fun.'

S4C's coverage of Wales Rally GB will be broadcast on Ralio at 10pm on Thursday 7th December and repeated at 5pm on Saturday the 9th December. It is also available with English subtitles on Sky channel 135.

Page 2 - Phil Mills’ guide to the 2006 Wales Rally GB