Preview: Rally Norway.

Wednesday, 14th February 2007

Just four days after crossing the finish line in Sweden, the WRC is back in action in neighbouring Norway this week for the third round of the 2007 FIA World Rally Championship.

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Servicing of the competing cars will take place inside the Viking Ship, an arena which was built for the 1994 Winter Olympics. The facility, which is shaped like an upturned vessel, will provide some welcome respite from the elements for the teams’ and mechanics, who had to endure temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius as they worked at the Hagfors service area in Sweden last weekend.

But conditions on the special stages could be even tougher than in Sweden, because February is traditionally one of the coldest months of the year in Norway. Some snow is forecast during the forthcoming week and an average temperature of minus 15 is anticipated.

FIA World Rally Championship news:

Citroen's Sebastien Loeb remains on top in the 2007 FIA World Rally drivers' championship following the Swedish Rally, the second round in the championship.

Loeb finished second on Sunday to add 8 points to his tally and following his win at the Principality last month he has now scored 18 points. Marcus Gronholm's Swedish victory puts him up to second, 2 points adrift, while Mikko Hirvonen moved up to third.

In the Manufacturers' championship the Citroen Total WRT remains in P1, although the BP Ford WRT is now just one point behind - 27 points v 26 points.

News from the Manufacturers' teams:

Citroen Total WRT:

[Sebastien Loeb, car #1 and Daniel Sordo, car #2]

Sebastien Loeb has said that he will definitely be going for the win in Norway, assuming the Citroen C4 is again as competitive as it was in Sweden. The Frenchman has had a strong start to the new season and while a poor tyre choice on leg two last weekend cost him the chance to battle with BP Ford’s Marcus Gronholm, Seb still took the runners-up spot, a result which gave him 18 points from the opening two events, with a maximum of 20 up for grabs.

“I hope that we can be competitive again [this weekend] and that we will succeed in finishing a step higher on the podium than we did in Sweden,” he noted, when asked about his objective for Rally Norway.