After a five-week break following the trip down under for Rally New Zealand, the FIA World Rally Championship heads to Spain this week.

It is the first of five events in nine weekends in a hectic end-of-season flurry. After a year in the early part of the season in March, the Rally Catalunya has reverted to autumn and forms the first part of a double-header with the Rallye de France in Corsica the following weekend.

This 12th round of the 16-rally championship is again based at Salou, on the Costa Daurada coast, south-west of Barcelona.

It will be comprised of 352.87km and ten stages, of which eight will be used twice, making a total of 18 speed tests. Six stages use exactly the same route as last year, with two stages – Coll del Grau and Le Serra d'Almos – being entirely new this year. The latter of these is actually the reverse of Thursday's shakedown route.

The ceremonial start will take place in Salou on Thursday October 4 at 1930hrs, while the cars will climb the finish ramp for the podium ceremony in the same location at 1500hrs on Sunday October 7.


Special notes:

For this year, the date of Rally Catalunya – Costa Daurada has been moved to the latter half of the season, as was seen from 2003 to 2005.

Last year it was round four of the calendar, meaning that the Spanish fans haven't experienced a WRC event for 18 months, so expect the roads in the hills of Tarragona to be lined with enthusiastic action-starved supporters.

Apart from running the weekend before Corsica this year, the event has changed little compared to the previous two years, although some of the special stages have been tweaked to offer a new challenge to the competitors. Most of the special stages are based in the mountains of the Tarragona region, about 120km south west of Barcelona.

The smooth, wide roads of Rally Catalunya make it the fastest sealed surface rally of the year. The majority of the Spanish asphalt is new and smooth and this event is the closest the WRC gets to a circuit race.

Cutting corners is commonplace as drivers look for every advantage, and dirt dragged onto the road often leads to slippery and unpredictable conditions for those running further down the order.