After a five-week break the World Rally Championship returns to action in Spain next week for the first of two asphalt events on consecutive weekends that could go a long way to deciding the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship titles.
With three wins from the last three rallies in Spain, Sébastien Loeb has to be the favourite to do it again. But after throwing away victory in New Zealand, Mikko Hirvonen and the Ford team are fired up and promising revenge.
If Hirvonen or Ford are to have any chance of winning their respective championships this year they have to try and beat Loeb in Spain and Corsica. But for that they're going to have to break Citroen's four-year asphalt stranglehold.
After the mixed conditions of Rallye Monte Carlo and the broken surface of Rally Deutschland, Spain's smooth blacktop makes it the first pure asphalt rally of the year. And on this surface Loeb has been unbeatable since 2004, when Markko Martin won for Ford in Spain.
To boost its chances Ford has strengthened its squad by replacing newcomer Jari-Matti Latvala with asphalt driving expert Francois Duval in the second Focus for both of the back-to-back events. The team's preparations for Spain have been meticulous and exhaustive. Hirvonen and Duval carried out six days of asphalt testing last week, while Hirvonen has had cramming sessions in the UK with a driving coach.
The battle between second drivers Sordo and Dual is shaping up to be just as exciting as the one between their team leaders. Both have a crucial role to play in deciding the manufacturers contest and both have finished second on this rally before. Either one is capable of winning.
Then of course there's Latvala, who could still worry the favourites in his Stobart team car. Also capable of springing a surprise is The Subaru World Rally Team which will be running a trio of Impreza WRC2008s for the first time, with Frenchman Brice Tirabassi lining up alongside regular drivers Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson.
The Subarus were the closest to the Citroens and Fords on the last asphalt round, and with the benefit of six weeks of analysis and development, the Japanese team could pull something out of the bag.
Rally Spain also counts as the penultimate round of the FIA Junior World Rally Championship (J-WRC), and all of the registered competitors will be taking part headed by the current leader, Frenchman Sebastien Ogier.
photo:Subaru
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| Petter Solberg - Subaru Impreza WRC 2008 |
With three wins from the last three rallies in Spain, Sébastien Loeb has to be the favourite to do it again. But after throwing away victory in New Zealand, Mikko Hirvonen and the Ford team are fired up and promising revenge.
If Hirvonen or Ford are to have any chance of winning their respective championships this year they have to try and beat Loeb in Spain and Corsica. But for that they're going to have to break Citroen's four-year asphalt stranglehold.
After the mixed conditions of Rallye Monte Carlo and the broken surface of Rally Deutschland, Spain's smooth blacktop makes it the first pure asphalt rally of the year. And on this surface Loeb has been unbeatable since 2004, when Markko Martin won for Ford in Spain.
To boost its chances Ford has strengthened its squad by replacing newcomer Jari-Matti Latvala with asphalt driving expert Francois Duval in the second Focus for both of the back-to-back events. The team's preparations for Spain have been meticulous and exhaustive. Hirvonen and Duval carried out six days of asphalt testing last week, while Hirvonen has had cramming sessions in the UK with a driving coach.
The battle between second drivers Sordo and Dual is shaping up to be just as exciting as the one between their team leaders. Both have a crucial role to play in deciding the manufacturers contest and both have finished second on this rally before. Either one is capable of winning.
Then of course there's Latvala, who could still worry the favourites in his Stobart team car. Also capable of springing a surprise is The Subaru World Rally Team which will be running a trio of Impreza WRC2008s for the first time, with Frenchman Brice Tirabassi lining up alongside regular drivers Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson.
The Subarus were the closest to the Citroens and Fords on the last asphalt round, and with the benefit of six weeks of analysis and development, the Japanese team could pull something out of the bag.
Rally Spain also counts as the penultimate round of the FIA Junior World Rally Championship (J-WRC), and all of the registered competitors will be taking part headed by the current leader, Frenchman Sebastien Ogier.
photo:Subaru