Points at a premium as rally show heads for Wales
The Wales Rally GB, first run as the RAC (Royal Automobile Club) Rally in 1932, celebrates its 75th year this weekend in the Welsh town of Llandudno that will also act as central service park.
The 59 competitors will tackle 23 special stages, totalling 312km of the overall rally length of 1 655km.
Weather conditions can transform the rally with rain and fog.
The chase for both the 2019 Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ championships is building towards a thrilling finale after the one-two result from Citroen in Turkey.
Sebastien Ogier’s victory means he has closed to within 17 points of leader Ott Tanak (Toyota Gazoo) and 13 ahead of Thierry Neuville (Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT).
Hyundai (314 points) heads the Manufacturers’ table and will be fielding Neuville (180 points), Andreas Mikkelsen (94 points) and former team member Craig Breen, making his first appearance this season.
M-Sport Ford WRT (184 points) will hopefully have a fully recovered Elfyn Evans (78 points) back behind the wheel with Teemu Suninen (83 points) out to improve his points tally and Pontus Tidemand (6 points) completing the lineup.
Citroen’s Ogier (193 points) will be a man to watch as he and teammate Esapekka Lappi (80 points) attempt to close the gap to the front for the Citroen Total WRT (259 points).
It is an important event for the Toyota Gazoo WRT (295 points) with current championship leader Ott Tanak (210 points), beginning to be pressurised by Ogier and Neuville in their race for the driver’s title.
Kris Meeke (86 points) and Toyota team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala (84 points) will also be determined to increase their points haul.