Speaking prior to the final round in the 2006
FIA WRC, the Austrian said that he is feeling very confident and the fact this will be his tenth outing in the Wales means he will have ample experience to draw on. Indeed he has finished in the top eight and scored points on his last three outings in GB, securing fifth spot in 2005, eighth in 2004 and seventh in 2003. He also knows that he needs to outscore
Daniel Sordo by just two points if he wants to take fourth overall in the drivers’ championship.
“The Wales Rally suits me just fine. I like the conditions and know that I can be very fast there,” said Stohl. “It is good that we still have a goal in front of us in order to keep up the tension. I obviously want to end the season with my fourth podium place.“
Stohl’s team-mate,
Henning Solberg is also eager to end the year positively and the Norwegian, like Manfred, also has plenty of knowledge of the event and this year’s outing with be his sixth in Wales.
“We always drive at a very high speed, which sometimes takes its toll. But it is the only way to keep up with the top [drivers]. It is important to us to test our limits. We have had some very good results this year already [including my first WRC podium finish in Turkey] and now we want to top that at the Wales Rally GB,“ Henning added.
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally team:
[
Matthew Wilson, car #9 and
Jari-Matti Latvala, car #10]
Matthew Wilson has admitted that it will be difficult to get a strong finish on the Rally GB, as he will start with a one minute penalty, courtesy of a speeding infraction. The Rally NZ stewards opted to hand him a time penalty as opposed to just fining him, as he was judged to be a ‘regular offender’ after similar offences in Sweden and Spain earlier this year.
There is no doubt though that it is a big blow, especially as he could well have scored points again, to add to the one he managed on the Rally Argentina, when he became the youngest driver ever to clinch a WRC point.
