Latvala meanwhile, is also keen to get out and compete, although he is keeping his feet firmly on the ground, as this will be his first outing on the Rallye Monte Carlo in a WRC car. As such he just wants to get to the finish.
“The Monte Carlo rally is one of the toughest events of the season because of the varying conditions. I have competed on the rally two times before but this is the first time in a world rally car,” explained Latvala. “I think I will need to be careful, it will be very easy to go slightly too hard and that’s not what I want to do. It will be a big challenge for me and I really want to finish this event to get the season off to a good start.”
As for Wilson Jr, the Brit, who finished 15th on his Monte debut last year, is just going to take it a stage at a time: “I can’t really predict how things will go on this first rally but I’m glad to be back competing again after the end-of-season break,” he added. “I’ve been relaxing over Christmas and preparing myself for this season and I can’t wait to get back into the ’06 spec car.”
Munchi’s Ford WRT:
[Luis-Perez Companc, car #11 and Juan Pablo Raies, car #12]
The Munchi’s Ford WRT will not take part in the Rallye Monte Carlo, the outfit, which is based around Luis-Perez Companc will begin competing in Sweden. Companc and Juan Pablo Raies are expected to compete in 10 events in total, using competition numbers 11 and 12.
The cars will run in a distinctive red and white livery and in addition to sponsorship from Munchi's, the team will also be backed by Turismo Pecom, Goyaike, BFGoodrich and Puma.
Junior RC / Production WRC:
The Rallye Monte Carlo is the only event of the season that will not count towards either a round of the Junior Rally Championship or the Production Car World Rally Championship. The Production Car WRC begins in Sweden next month, while the Junior series gets underway on round three in Norway, also in February.
Other significant entries:
48 crews are due to start the Rallye Monte Carlo, eighteen of which will be in WRC cars.
In addition to the manufacturer drivers’, eight others will also take part in WRC cars, including Jan Kopecky, the only driver entered in a Skoda Fabia WRC, while
Toni Gardemeister and Xavier Pons will both compete in privately entered Mitsubishi Lancer WRC cars, run by MMSP.
