2007 Rally of Ireland - Preview

1. BP-Ford

BP-Ford World Rally Team heads into the final three weekends of the FIA World Rally Championship season in head-to-head fights for both the manufacturers' and drivers' titles. Two rallies remain in that three-week period and the squad makes the short journey to Rally Ireland (15 - 18

November) in the knowledge that this series newcomer could prove the toughest challenge of the 16-round year.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "I'm really excited about the end of season. Fighting for world titles in both the drivers' and manufacturers'

series is a great position to be in and to win both would be the most fantastic way to end my career. Of course, it's not that easy and things change quickly in this sport so nobody in the team is taking anything for granted. There are two rallies remaining and we have to be as strong and professional as we have been all season."

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "Victory in Japan was great for my confidence. I had a perfect drive over the whole weekend and I'm feeling good going into Ireland. I want to help the team win the manufacturers'

title there and that would give me the opportunity to go to the final round in Wales with the opportunity to help Marcus in his fight for the drivers'

title."

Khalid Al Qassimi/Nicky Beech: "As with every WRC event I have done this year, Ireland will be another completely new challenge. As before, the objective will be to establish a pace and learn how to adapt to the particular challenges of this event."

2. Citroen Total

One thing is certain: the outcome of the 2007 World Rally Championship will be decided in the British Isles, and quite possibly on the first of the season's last two fixtures - the inaugural Rally Ireland - for which Citroën Sport has entered two C4 WRCs for Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "The stages in the Sligo region might turn out to be a little different to those we saw in Donegal and Cork, but we are expecting them to be very fast, narrow and bumpy, and lined with big banks.

They are likely to be a very difficult cocktail, especially when you consider that it is imperative that we win. It will doubtlessly be close but we'll give it everything we've got!"

Dani Sordo/Marc Marti: "Although the Cork Rally took place in the south of Ireland, it still showed us how specific the Irish lanes are. They were a big surprise to me, especially the grip which is low even in the dry. So I can only imagine what it will be like if it's wet!"

3. Subaru

Three Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC2007s are entered for the fifteenth round of the 2007 WRC calendar. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills will drive car number seven, Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot will drive number eight, and Spanish duo Xevi Pons/Xavier Amigo will be in car number 14.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "I have never rallied in Ireland before so it will be very new for me, but I am looking forward to it. The fans in Ireland are rally-mad which is really good. It's always nice to drive in front of people who are really into it. It would have been good to do a few rallies earlier in the year to get a feel for the surface, but still we prepare and focus 110 per cent. It will be very interesting I think, especially with the chance that the 2007 championship can be decided there."

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "Rally Ireland is a totally different event, not just in terms of the bumpy surface. Being a new round it's very difficult to prepare for. We've driven the route in a Group N car, but the extra speed of the WRC car is bound to make it very different. When everything comes up faster, it becomes more difficult as you have to process the information faster, and when it is all new that is the hard part. The surface is half asphalt and half gravel, which means we have to use an unique setup. We actually set the car up for the wet to get the compromise between the two surfaces, and the high chance of rain. Rather than when the asphalt gets wet and slippery, it's when the asphalt is totally dry that you lose time."

Xavier Pons/Xavier Amigo: "I haven't been to Ireland before so it's another new weekend for me. Ok, it will be a hard rally and very slippery, so it will be easy to make a mistake but I will push as hard as I can. We haven't done any testing there so I don't really know what to expect from the conditions, but I still prepare in the same way as any rally, and learn as fast as I can from the recce days."

4. OMV Kronos Citroen

The OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team has prepared itself for the penultimate run to the FIA World Rally Championship, the "Rally Ireland", at the OMV Rally Waldviertel. Not in a World Rally Car, though, but the approximately 180 special stage kilometres were meant to heighten the feeling for speed. Which makes the goal of Manfred Stohl and Ilka Minor

obvious: to score points.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: "After quite some time we scored points in Japan once again. We want to repeat that in Ireland. The harder the conditions the easier this could be for us. But we nevertheless will have to attack from the first kilometre on. Each place we move up in the WRC intermediate standings means a better starting position at the Wales Rally GB. That is what we have to focus on."

5. Stobart M-Sport Ford

The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team are set to be a part of history as round 15 of the FIA World Rally Championship heads to Ireland for the first ever time next week. This tarmac event marks the penultimate round of the

2007 WRC series as championship standings begin to heat-up over the closing sector.

Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: "Again I really don't know what to expect of this rally as it is another new one for me. I have been told it can be a very difficult rally, very narrow, twisty and fast and if the weather is bad it can be extremely slippery. It is going to be a hard event but we have had some experience of tarmac this year which will help. I will be looking to just get in the points here. We have been so close to the points on all the tarmac rallies this year so I will try my best for one in Ireland. The podium in Japan was another great moment and one in Ireland would be amazing but I don't want to make mistakes as this rally could be in the WRC again so it will be important to complete the event for experience, hopefully inside the top-eight."

Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "This is going to be an interesting rally but for me I am feeling quite confident. In 2003 we had a Focus run by M-Sport to compete on the British championship and it was a really good year of experience. In this year we had some good results and it gave me the feeling for these bumpy, dirty, tarmac roads. We have not done these stages before but we have rallied on roads close by and have an idea of the difficult surface which will help a lot. The only concern for me is the weather. If it rains, conditions can become very difficult and really slippery. We have had a good feeling with the car lately and had a great result on the last tarmac event in Corsica. I have enjoyed the rallies this year that have been new to everyone and I hear there will be lots of world rally cars and spectators in Ireland. I just hope it's going to stay dry for the rally."

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "I'm really looking forward to this event but I also know how tricky it can be. There are a lot of unknowns here for everybody which is going to make things very interesting throughout the pack. When we won here in 2005 it was quite surprising because it was a mixed-surface event and we thought we would have the advantage on gravel and be behind on tarmac but after the opening, tarmac day we were over a minute ahead against some very quick Irish competitors. A couple of the stages are in the same area so for me it will help to have this prior knowledge of the roads and especially of the tricky surface. These final two events are essentially both home rallies for me and I can't wait to have another go at Irish roads before heading back for the final round in Wales."

6. Munchis Ford

The Munchi's team are not competing on this event.

7. CRT Skoda-Kopecky

Jan Kopecky is not competing in Ireland, his final event of the 2007 season will be Rally of Great Britain.

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Event statistics

The 2007 Rally Ireland in brief.

* This is Rally Ireland's first inclusion in the calendar of the World Rally Championship.

* The rally takes place in the northwest of Ireland. The host town is Sligo where all the main facilities are based. Event HQ is based in the Clarion Hotel, while the service park and Media Room are based on the campus of the nearby Technology Institute. Sligo is 207km from Dublin, the Republic of Ireland's capital. Sligo Airport is 8km from the town centre.

* The time difference between Ireland and CET is one hour. When it is 8am in Paris, it is 7am in Dublin. The local currency is the Euro.

* The total length of the 2007 event is 1,196.25km, including 342.34km divided into 20 stages (14 different).

* Tyres - the quota per driver is 70 tyres, of which 47 may be used (event + shakedown). Barcode lists and the pattern choices had to be nominated by Friday November 9.

* Recce is scheduled for Tuesday November 13 (between 08.00 and 18.00 - SS8, SS9, SS10, SS2/5, SS3/6, SS4/7 and SS20) and Wednesday November 14 (between 08.00 and 17.00 - SS19, SS11/14, SS12/15, SS13/16, SS17 and SS18). Two passes are authorised at a top speed of 70kph, and in an order and at specific times dictated by the organisers. Recce for the Stormont super-special takes place on Thursday November 15, between 16.00 and 17.30.

* Shakedown takes place on Thursday November 15, between 07.00 and 10.00.

The length of the

test stage, which starts 5.97km to the east of the service park near the village of Formoyle, is 2.87km.

* A super-special will be run at Stormont, Belfast, on Thursday evening near Northern Ireland's parliament building. The start ceremony begins at 18.50.

* Leg 1 (Thursday November 15 and Friday November 16): 386.10km, including 168.07km divided into 10 stages (7 different). Thursday: Start ceremony, Belfast (from 18.50). SS1 (Stormont Superspecial, 1.82km). Friday: Exit service park at 07.25. SS2 (Geevagh 1, 11.48km), SS3 (Arigna 1,

27.90km) and SS4 (Lough Gill 1, 20.57km). Regroup (09.59, 20 minutes).

Service A (10.19, 30

minutes). SS5 (Geevagh 2), SS6 (Arigna 2) and SS7 (Lough Gill 2). Regroup (13.23, 20 minutes).

Service B (13.43, 30 minutes). SS8 (Glenboy, 22.25km), SS9 (Bencroy,

15.44km) and SS10

(Drumshando, 8.66km). Service C (17.49, 45 minutes). Last car due into parc ferme at 21.30.

* Leg 2 (Saturday November 17): 505.38km, including 118.36km divided into 6 stages (3 different).

Exit parc ferme for Service D (06.30, 10 minutes). SS11 (Sloughan Glen 1, 27.76km), SS12 (Ballinamallard 1, 17.96km) and SS13 (Tempo 1, 13.46km). Regroup (11.41, 20 minutes). Service E (12.01, 30 minutes). SS14 (Sloughan Glen 2), SS15 (Ballinamallard 2) and

SS16 (Tempo 2). Service

F (17.32, 45 minutes). Last car due into parc ferme at 21.30.

* Leg 3 (Sunday November 18): 304.77km, including 55.91km divided into 4 stages (4 different). Exit parc ferme for Service G (07.00, 10 minutes). SS17 (Murley, 24.70km), SS18 (Fardross, 14.77km),

SS19 (Donegal Bay, 14.06km) and SS20 (Mullaghmore, 2.38km).

* An unofficial podium ceremony (15 minutes) will be held at the end of the final stage for live broadcast on TV. The official podium ceremony will take place in front of the Clarion Hotel from 14.18.

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Event Schedule

Thursday 15 November: Leg 1: Belfast - Belfast

Start Stormont 18.50

SS1 Stormont Super Special 1.82km 19.00

Finish Stormont 19.15

Friday 16 November: Leg 1 (continued) Sligo - Sligo

Start Sligo 07.25

SS2 Geevagh 1 11.48km 08.05

SS3 Arigna 1 27.90km 08.33

SS4 Lough Gill 1 20.57km 09.24

Serv A Sligo (30 mins) 10.19

SS5 Geevagh 2 11.48km 11.29

SS6 Arigna 2 27.90km 11.57

SS7 Lough Gill 2 20.57km 12.48

Serv B Sligo (30 mins) 13.43

SS8 Glenboy 22.25km 15.01

SS9 Bencroy 15.44km 15.54

SS10 Drumshanbo 8.66km 16.19

Serv C Sligo (45 mins) 17.49

Finish Sligo 18.34

Total 168.07km

Saturday 17 November: Leg 2 Sligo - Sligo

Serv D Sligo (10 mins) 06.30

SS11 Sloughan Glen 1 27.76km 08.13

SS12 Ballinamallard 1 17.96km 09.08

SS13 Tempo 1 13.46km 09.51

Serv E Sligo (30 mins) 12.01

SS14 Sloughan Glen 2 27.76km 14.04

SS15 Ballinamallard 2 17.96km 14.59

SS16 Tempo 2 13.46km 15.42

Serv F Sligo (45 mins) 17.32

Finish Sligo 18.17

Total 118.36km

Sunday 18 November: Leg 3 Sligo - Sligo

Serv G Sligo (10 mins) 07.00

SS17 Murley 24.70km 09.03

SS18 Fardross 14.77km 09.51

SS19 Donegal Bay 14.06km 11.39

SS20 Mullaghmore 2.38km 13.08

Finish Sligo 14.18