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Jaromír Tarabus will be flying the flag for the Abarth brand when he
takes to the start ramp of the Wales Rally GB, the final
round of the FIA World Rally Championship, which gets
underway in Cardiff this evening. The experienced Czech
rally driver will be behind the wheel of a Grande Punto
Abarth S2000 run by JM Engineering Zlín. Daniel Trunkát
will be in the co-driver's seat as usual.
Tarabus made his
rallying debut in the late 1990s and has campaigned cars
such as the Suzuki Ignis S1600 and Honda Civic VTi before
stepping up to a Grande Punto Abarth S2000 for this year.
His best result this season was 2nd overall on the Czech
Sprint Championship-counting Impromat Rallysprint Kopná. HJe
also picked up a 3rd place on the Rally Bohemia, 6th place
on the Horácká Rally Třebíč, and 11th on the Cetelem
Valašská Rally, all three events which counted towards the
Czech Rally Championship. Tarabus also contested the Barum
Rally Zlín this year which is a round of the
Intercontinental Rally Championship as well as the Czech
Rally Championship, but retired with engine problems. His
other two outings in the Italian Super2000 machine this
year, the IQ Jänner Rallye and the Fuchs Oil Rally Příbram
both resulted in retirements following accident damage.
As one of the oldest rallies in the world, Wales 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 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.
Once again Wales Rally GB is the WRC season closer, with
a wet, windy and wild early December date. The promise of
rain, mud, fog and even the possibility of snow and ice are
all thrown into the mix. The gravel forest stages of south
Wales, near to host city Cardiff, are fast and flowing and,
when wet, can become as slippery as any in the world. And in
March 2008 the FIA allowed Wales Rally GB to move one week
later in the calendar so Cardiff's 74,000 seat Millennium
Stadium would be free to host the Superspecial stage.
The Ceremonial Start,
which takes place this evening (Thursday 4th), and
the finish in the early afternoon on Sunday 7th will both be
in Cardiff and for the fourth consecutive year Rally
Headquarters and the “Cardiff Special Stage” will be in the
Millennium Stadium. The City and County of Swansea will host the Service Park
in the prestigious SA1 Waterfront Development on the site
first used last year. Thursday’s Shakedown stage will again
be in Penllergaer Forest, accessed by a Park and Ride
service.
For the first time since 2000 the rally will return to
Forestry Commission roads in mid Wales. Three stages will
run during Day 1 on Friday 5th December and feature a
dedicated spectator area. In addition there will be a number
of new roads to increase the challenge for drivers and
viewing opportunities for spectators. Friday’s competitive route will conclude with two short
spectator stages in Walters Arena, normally part of the
longer Rheola Forest stage. These will be run twice in quick
succession.
During Saturday 6th December the traditional Halfway
Forest and a shortened Crychan Forest stage near Llandovery
will be run in the reverse direction to last year. The 1.1
kilometre special stage held inside the Millennium Stadium
in Cardiff will again be the final stage of Saturday. On Sunday 7th December the Rheola stage will be identical
to last year and will incorporate the Walters
Arena section that was used on the first day, but the roads
will have been re-graded. The Port Talbot stage will be run
in the reverse direction to last year.
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