In general, the roads which make up the special stages for this event have a smooth topping of gravel but a very compact, hard base. This means that if it rains, the roads could become very slippery. There are some narrow mountain tracks included in the route, but fast sections are predominant and the average speed is likely to be very high, particularly on the first day of the event.
As well as the 16 gravel stages, the rally starts and finishes with a fan-friendly Superspecial inside the Algarve Stadium. More than 20,000 spectators are expected at the events, which will run to a head-to-head format
FIA World Rally Championship news:
Marcus Gronholm remains top in the race for the 2007 FIA World Rally drivers' championship. Gronholm finished second in Mexico to take his points tally to 32.
Defending champion,
Sebastien Loeb, who won the Leon-based event though, took the maximum points and as a result moved up from third to second in the standings, closing the gap to 4 points.
Mikko Hirvonen dropped to third, after finishing in the same place in Mexico.
In the Manufacturers' championship,
BP Ford remains out front, although the
Citroen Total WRT managed to close the gap by 1 point – down from 16 points to 15. The
Stobart M-Sport WRT and
Subaru are tied for third.
The big news since the Rally Mexico was the announcement by Michelin that they have started legal proceedings against the
FIA, following the news at the end of last month that Pirelli will become the control tyre for the FIA WRC from 2008-2010.
Michelin currently supply all the teams in the World Rally Championship, via sister brand, BFGoodrich, however the recent decision by the World Motor Sport Council has left the French tyre manufacturer extremely upset.
