This ninth event of the 16-round series can be as demanding and unpredictable as January's opening asphalt

encounter in Monte Carlo. The roads could not be more different than the French Alpine passes. But the changing

nature of the characteristics and surface of the speed tests and the ever-present threat of rain can offer the type

of conditions that makes tyre selection just as tricky.

The rally is based in Trier, Germany's oldest city and close to the border with Luxembourg. The special stages

cover three totally different types of road and the nature of each varies enormously. The bumpy narrow tracks in

the Mosel vineyards, which host the first and last legs, comprise fast sections linked by hairpin bends as they

rise and fall among the vines. Corners are partly hidden by the tall vines and there is no 'flow' to the

artificial roads. The public roads in Saarland, used on the second leg, are more flowing but are frequently wooded

and can be equally tricky in the wet.

But the infamous Baumholder military ranges provide the toughest test. The roads used for tank training by US

soldiers are unique to the series. Fast, wide asphalt contrasts with bumpy abrasive concrete and demands high

durability from the BFGoodrich tyres. Massive kerb stones, known as hinkelstein, designed to keep the tanks on the

roads sit on the edge and will punish the slightest mistake. The tracks are always dirty, a mix of sand and gravel

making conditions slippery in the dry and treacherous in the wet. The term asphalt is somewhat of a misnomer for

Baumholder.

The route has undergone major changes from 2006. The single service park moves back to Trier's Messepark, last

used in 2002. Associated with this is a super special stage midway through Sunday's final leg based around the

city's historic Porta Nigra, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Four cars will race around the course at the same time,

starting at 15-second intervals. This stage will replace the traditional street test in St Wendel. There is also

a greater emphasis on the vineyard stages alongside the Mosel river with the first and last legs based there. As a

result there are fewer public road tests in the Saarland region. After a ceremonial start at Porta Nigra on

Thursday night and Friday's opening day in the Mosel, Saturday's leg is the longest of all. It is split between

tests in Saarland and Baumholder, covering 164.86km with two remote service zones in Konken. Drivers tackle 19

stages in total, of which only the super special is used once, covering 356.27km in a route of 1227.04km.

1. BP-Ford

2. Citroen Total

3. Subaru

4. OMV Kronos Citroen

5. Stobart M-Sport Ford

6. Munchis Ford

1. BP-Ford

After dominating the last three rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship on gravel, BP-Ford World Rally Team

takes its lead in both the manufacturers' and drivers' series to Germany next week for the first taste of asphalt

since January. Rallye Deutschland (16 - 19 August) will mark the sealed surface debut of the 2007-specification

Ford Focus RS World Rally Car which made a hugely successful maiden appearance with a one-two finish in Finland

earlier this month. Reigning champion BP-Ford goes into the event with a 40-point lead in the manufacturers'

standings while Marcus Gr

allez Seb!!!

Here's hopeing the hinkelsteins have their usual attraction for the Scandanavians, eh?

Here's hopeing the hinkelsteins have their usual attraction for the Scandanavians, eh?

:rofl: Now thats not nice

:rofl: Now thats not nice

Not like I was wishing injuries on them, just lost corners.