Michal Kościuszko's best FIA Junior World Rally Championship result was a third place on the Neste Oil Finland Rally (above) this year, while in 2006 he recorded JWRC points finishes on the Catalunya and Sweden Rallies. The Grande Punto Abarth S2000 has made a number of FIA World Rally Championship appearances this year in privateers' hands. Here Claude Chossat drives an Automeca Sport-run example on last month's Tour de Corse.

The Grande Punto Abarth will be hitting the world stage later this month when Polish youngster Michał Kościuszko contests the Wales Rally GB at the wheel of the potent Italian Super2000 rally machine. The Wales Rally GB is the sixteenth and final round of the 2007 FIA World Rally Championship, and has already attracted a top entry list.

Homologated in Class N4, Kościuszko will start at #76 in Cardiff when the tough event, based in the forests of south Wales, gets underway on November 30. In N4, he will face a horde of top Group N machines, including the Mitsubishi Evo IX and Subaru Impreza STi, while S2000 rivals will include the new MG S2000 Sport.

This will be the fifth WRC appearance for the Grande Punto Abarth: last year Giandomenico Basso and Volkan Işık made an appearance in Turkey in a pair of works cars, while this summer Anton Alén made a storming appearance on the Neste Oil Finland Rally, where he was in excellent form before mechanical issues saw him retire at the beginning of the final day. Meanwhile, other appearances this year at WRC level for the Abarth machine have included French privateer Claude Chossat on the Tour de Corse a few weeks ago, and José Pedro Fontes in the Portuguese importer’s Vodafone-backed example on the Rally Portugal earlier this year.

Michał Kościuszko will have regular co-driver Maciej Szczepaniak alongside him in Wales. The 22-year-old has been competing in rallying for 5 years and after winning the Polish Super1600 title in 2005, he has contested a mixed programme of FIA Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC) events over the last two seasons. In 2006 he took part in seven JWRC events, five at the wheel of a Suzuki Ignis S1600 and two at the helm of a Swift S1600, while this year he has entered four events in a Renault Clio S1600. He finished 19th in the 2006 JWRC and secured 10th place in this year’s standings.

His best JWRC result is third on the Neste Oil Finland Rally this year, while in 2006 he recorded points finishes on the Swedish Rally and Spain’s Rallye Catalunya. During the last three seasons he has also taken part in a string of international rallies across Europe, including events of the stature of the Radj Polski, Rally Mille Miglia, Rally d’Antibes, Barum Rally Zlín and the Rally di San Marino, in a variety of Super1600 cars, gaining experience on a number of surfaces.

Wales Rally GB once again occupies its traditional spot in the calendar with a wet, wild and windy December date.  The promise of rain, mud and even the possibility of ice are all thrown into the mix, making the event hazardous for even the most experienced of crews.  The forest stages of south Wales, near to host city Cardiff, are fast and flowing but, when wet, become as slippery as any in the world.  As one of the oldest rallies in the world, Rally GB - known for much of its history as the RAC Rally - has reflected the numerous changes in the sport.  From its heyday as a truly national event that roamed around the country and included stages in the north-east, Scotland, the Lake District, the north-west and the Midlands, it has developed into a tight, spectator-friendly cloverleaf format rally.