In total, in addition to the 29 drivers entered under the A8 class, there will be nine competing in the A6 class, two in the A7 class, 14 in the N3 class and 25 in the N4 class.
Route:
The event is based in Hamar, 125km north-east of Oslo, which also hosts the single service park at the spectacular 9,000 capacity indoor Viking Ship stadium, built to host the speed skating events during the 1994 Winter Olympics. After a Thursday evening ceremonial start, the opening day's action takes competitors south-east to the forests of Kongsvinger for the longest leg of the event. The second day is centred in the mountain region of Lillehammer, host city of the Olympics, and includes a short test in the town of Hamar itself. The last leg repeats four of the second day tests and offers a real sting in the tail as the final Elverum stage is 44.28km, one of the longest of the season. The Mountain stage, run in both the second and third legs, at Sjusjøen (Seven Lakes) provides some of the most spectacular scenery of the season. Drivers tackle 18 stages in total, covering 355.99km in a route of 1109.57km.
Last year:
The Rally Norway was not apart of the
FIA World Rally Championship in 2006, although the ‘candidate’ event was won by
Henning Solberg, who dominated in the event in his Bozian-run OMV Peugeot 307. The Norwegian won 13 of the 14 stages and eventually beat Mads Ostberg, who took second, by over 5 minutes. Anders Grondal was third, 30 seconds or so up on Thomas Schie.
![Scene at the start of Rally Norway 2006 [Pic credit: Rally Norway]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/263848.jpg)
