The 2006 FIA World Rally Championship resumes this weekend following the long summer break and Germany will be the first stop as the WRC moves into the second half of the season.
The event, which is round nine in the series, uses asphalt roads in the Mosel and Saarland regions in the far west of Germany, with Trier, the oldest city in the country, as permanent rally headquarters.
The rally's location in central Europe attracts spectators from all over the continent and an estimated 200,000 fans are expected to make the pilgrimage this year for what will be the final tarmac event of the season.
While rally HQ and parc ferme will be in the centre of Trier, the service area will be located in Bostalsee, a small holiday resort approximately 70 kilometres from Trier. The rally comprises 351.55 competitive kilometres and 19 special stages, including a spectator-friendly Superspecial in Sankt Wendel on Saturday night. One new stage will be run (Grafschaft Veldenz) on leg one. The ceremonial start will take place at the Porta Nigra, the arch built by the Romans in the centre of Trier, at 2000hrs on Thursday August 10. The podium finish is scheduled for 1224hrs in Trier
Special notes:
The event may be pure asphalt, but the rally has one of the widest varieties of tarmac on the calendar as each leg has a distinctly different character.
Day one's stages are run in the vineyards of the Mosel, one of Germany's largest wine producing areas, and dry leaves and squashed grapes combine to make an exceptionally greasy surface. On the second day of competitive action crews' move to the tank training ranges of the Baumholder military ground where the roads are flanked with huge, unforgiving concrete kerbstones, known locally as 'Hinkelsteins.' The wide asphalt sections are abrasive and dirty, while a fine dusting of sand makes them very slippery when wet. The final day's action takes place on the smoother, fast Saarland roads.
With the rally taking place at the height of the German summer, the weather is expected to be hot and sunny, although there is some chance of showers as rain moves in from the Eifel and Hunsruck mountains surrounding the area. Wet weather dramatically changes the characteristics and grip levels of the roads and crews can be faced with Monte Carlo-esque variations between stages. To minimise the dangers associated with wet roads, each driver and co-driver has a safety crew who drive the stages before their competitive running to report conditions back to the driver.
Rallye Deutschland will also present an extra challenge as just 42 hours separates the finish of it and the start of the Rally Finland recce. Teams will start to deconstruct their service areas from Saturday night onwards ready to depart after the first service of the final leg. Rallye Deutschland organisers have had to make special plans for teams to make the journey in time, with Sunday's leg shortened from six to four stages as a result.
FIA World Rally Championship news:
Sebastien Loeb saw his lead at the top of the 2006 FIA World Rally drivers' championship take a minor hit after 'only' finishing second to Marcus Gronholm in Greece. The Kronos Citroen driver though still enjoys a 29-point cushion over Gronholm, who eased to his third win of the season on the Acropolis. The Finn's success there ended a string of five consecutive wins for Loeb, stretching back to round three in Mexico. Gronholm is now twelve points clear of his nearest rival in second, with reigning JWRC champion Daniel Sordo third. Mikko Hirvonen's podium finish on the Acropolis lifted him above Manfred Stohl and Petter Solberg, who are joint fifth.
