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2010 WRC season wraps up in Wales

The final round of this year's World Rally Championship takes place in Great Britain over the weekend of 12 to 14 November.

Wales Rally GB is the last event for the current era of two-litre World Rally Cars with 15 of the cutting-edge World Rally Cars making one final pass through the Welsh woods before they are replaced by all-new 1.6-litre machinery in time for the start of next season.

Both Ford and Citroen want to send their WRC cars out with a win. Citroen's C4 WRC has scored 35 victories in 55 rallies while Ford's Focus RS World Rally Car ends its memorable 12-year world rally career after winning two manufacturers' world titles and 44 rallies.

As in Spain at the end of October, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena start the UK event under no pressure. Unable to be beaten in the WRC drivers' title-fight, Loeb is determined to put on a great display.

“Whenever we start a rally, we do so with the intention of winning,” says the seven-time world champion. “If I feel good and the conditions are favourable, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be gunning for a third win on the bounce in Wales.”

However the other podium positions are still up for grabs. Citroen's Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia have held second place since their win in Rally Portugal, with the pair having an eleven and sixteen point advantage over their rivals, BP Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala and Citroen privateer Petter Solberg respectively.

Latvala has set his sights on a podium position in the drivers' standings, while his BP Ford team-mate Hirvonen has nothing less than victory as his target on this 13th and final round of the 2010 season.

Latvala said:"At the start of the season I privately set a target to finish in the top three of the championship. I'm third and have a chance to take second, so I need a strong result in Wales. I started my career in Britain and my first world rally was here, so Rally GB is like a second home event for me."

Loeb is chasing a hat-trick on the event, but Solberg who has the strongest record, having won four from the last eight Rally GBs.

Solberg promises a thriller from the start. "When we started the season we decided to go for a podium in the championship, and the fact we actually have a chance is great payback for all the hard work we have done through the year."

New Zealand rally star Hayden Paddon also contests Wales Rally GB, his last event of a successful debut in the Production World Rally Championship. Paddon goes into the season finale third in the PWRC standings and determined to demonstrate his outright speed to take out the PWRC category win.

"We have achieved our goal from the start of this season and that’s for a top three PWRC placing. We achieved that prior to the last rally in France, so in that respect this season’s performance has met our expectations. The goal for Wales Rally GB is to try and win the PWRC category,” states Paddon. “But we know this will be very difficult as the competition is very tough with defending PWRC champion Armindo Araujo, second-placed Patrik Flodin and fellow Pirelli Star Driver Ott Tanak all gunning for the same result.”

The Cardiff-based rally is one of the sport's classics. High-speed gravel forest roads in mid and south Wales account for the bulk of the competitive distance. However, this year's event also features a challenging mixed asphalt and dirt speed test, which includes a sealed surface section across the dauntingly difficult Epynt military ranges. Unpredictable weather is traditionally the rally's toughest challenge. Ice, fog and rain are all possible, and the gravel tracks can quickly turn to mud as grip becomes increasingly inconsistent

This year, for the first time, Cardiff Bay hosts to a special stage which will run twice on the evenings of Thursday 11 and Saturday 13 November, while old school Rally GB fans will be pleased to see the event return to the Radnor Forest stage in Powys for the first time in 11 years. The ultra fast stage 13km section will be run twice on Saturday.