Photo Credit: Citroen Racing The rallies are coming thick and fast, with Rd.12 of the 2016 World Rally Championship, Wales Rally GB, hosting the third rally in five weeks. Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia may have wrapped up the 2016 World Championship last weekend in Catalunya, but there is plenty still to fight for in the final two rallies of the season.
Wales, a traditional curtain closer for the WRC, is one of the toughest and events on the calendars and is one of the true classics. Often characterised by the sodden weather conditions, the rally features tricky technical sections and fast flowing roads, making it a true test of man and machine. Ogier may have just won his fourth consecutive drivers title, but that will not deter his hunger one little bit. The Frenchman loves to win as many rallies as he can, and besides he still has not won a gravel rally in 2016 which is quite hard to believe. On top of that, team boss Sven Smeets will be keen for VW to take a fourth consecutive constructors crown, so will need Ogier to do his part in Wales. Jari-Matti Latvala has been bereft of luck in his fourth season with Volkswagen Motorsport. However, despite a lowly finishing position caused by unlucky suspension damage in Spain, Latvala appeared to rediscover his rhythm and confidence with some great stage times, so hopefully we will see the Finn back to his best on the event he won in 2011 and 2012. Volkswagen's third man, Andreas Mikkelsen, is not able to help VW's push for the manufacturers crown so will be 100% focused on bagging himself second place in the drivers championship. His chances took a literal knock on the Costa Daurada when he overcooked a right hander, clipped the armco barrier and rolled his Polo R WRC. This allowed Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville to draw level with the Norwegian on points in the championship, in what was a partially disappointing rally for the Belgian despite another podium finish. Neuville spun his i20 on Friday's gravel stages, and struggled with understeer on the tarmac, before missing out on the chance to usurp Mikkelsen in the standings after failing to grab any Power Stage points. However, Thierry is in great form so will be one to watch next weekend. Dani Sordo is another who will be one to keep a very close eye on in Wales. The Spaniard sensationally led his home event after the treacherous and muddy gravel stages on Friday, before Ogier ate and ate away at the Hyundai man's advantage on Saturday to take the win on Sunday. However, Sordo's gravel performance bodes well for Rally GB. Let's hope he can prove it wasn't a one off. The third Hyundai will once again be driven by Hayden Paddon and John Kennard, a crew who will be jumping with joy at the sport's return to gravel. Paddon finished Spain's gravel tests just 1.5 seconds from the podium despite no anti-lag in his i20, pointing to an incredibly strong performance. Paddon will have his own eyes on Mikkelsen and Neuville's second place in the championship and could be a real dark horse for a top result in the Welsh forests. M-Sport's challenge is headed by Mads Ostberg, Eric Camilli and Ott Tanak. Ostberg is without a contract for 2017 as yet, but his manager and father Morten Ostberg has claimed Mads has two options on the table, possibly M-Sport and Toyota, and has already dismissed a third deal, so his WRC future looks to be secure for at least another season. Personally, I still want to see an eye-catching performance from the former rally winner, as the Ostberg of old appears to be disappearing into oblivion. Camilli has a 2017 drive for M-Sport confirmed, and will be treating the end of the season as a learning curve, but will still want to prove his mettle on some of rallying's most revered roads. Tanak, driving for the DMACK World Rally Team, is hotly tipped to be joining Eric Camilli at the main M-Sport squad next season, and the amount of testing the Estonian has conducted in the new 2017 challenger certainly supports the rumours. Either way, Tanak has fallen back down the pack after some blistering pace in Poland and Finland, so a return to form wouldn't go a miss for Ott. The Abu Dhabi Total WRT are making their final WRC appearance of 2016 in Wales, and will run cars for all three of Citroen's 2017 drivers. Kris Meeke heads the charge, and will be undoubtedly vying for a strong result on his home event. The Ulsterman, who won in Portugal and Finland, has had a couple of rallies to forget in Corsica and Spain so will be determined to end his season on a high, and should be in a good position to do so running further down the running order. Craig Breen and Scott Martin are also home heroes in the second DS3, and have impressed significantly this year to earn themselves a factory Citroen drive for 2017 and 2018. Breen has plenty of experience on Wales Rally GB, including an emphatic WRC Academy win back in 2011, so is another who can be seriously considered for a good result. After his horrifying crash in Germany, Stephane Lefebvre makes his WRC return in GB, but without his regular co-driver Gabin Moreau who is still injured. His seat will be filled by Frenchman Gilles De Turckheim. It is unknown how much Lefebvre's high speed accident has affected his confidence, but there is no real pressure for him to perform well as he too has a works drive with Citroen in the bag for next year. The young Frenchman therefore just has to drive to the finish, gain experience and ready himself for the new season. Being a Brit, Wales Rally GB is slightly more significant than the other WRC rounds with it being the closest to my home in Edinburgh, Scotland. Therefore there are a few other drivers I am keen to observe, including the battle between BRC contenders Fredrik Ahlin, David Bogie, Rhys Yates and Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy contenders Osian Pryce and Gus Greensmith who will both drive R5 Fiestas in Wales instead of the R2's they have campaigned this year. The battle between Vauxhall team mates Chris Ingram and Robert Duggan should also be fascinating. Duggan campaigned a Vauxhall Adam R2 in this year's British Rally Championship and took 5 wins from 7 events, while Ingram drove a works Opel Adam in the Junior European Rally Championship, cruelly missing out on the title due to mechanical issues. The National Rally will also be something worth watching, with plenty of the top drivers from the Scottish Rally Championship taking on BTRDA regulars and each other. I will be down in Wales to cover how the Scottish boys and girls get on, so will be immersed in a world rally for the first time in my life! This may mean my WRC review on This Is Rally will be posted later than usual, but I am hoping to add a little insight as despite my work commitments, I want to try and follow and get in among the main event as much as I can. If you happen to see me around, please do say hello! I can't wait...
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January 2018
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