The 39th Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava/Rallye de Espana takes place this weekend, the thirteenth and penultimate round in the 2003
FIA World Rally Championship. Spain will also play host to the sixth round in the 2003 FIA Junior WRC.
This is the last asphalt rally of the year, a classic event run on closed public roads in the hinterland of the Costa Brava.
In order to reduce the length of the road sections and to have a single Service Park, for the actual rally, the event this year is more compact than before. It should also mean that the character of the surfaces is more constant through the event, with less abrasive stretches of road.
Completely different climatic conditions are expected this year, because the rally is now being run in the autumn.
This is the first time a FIA World Championship Rally has ever been held one week after the preceding event.
New this year:
All of the rally will be held this year in the region to the north or north-east of Barcelona. This year the route does not go down to the Tarragona area.
Some stages will be used in both directions. Three stages, which are in the region between Ripoll and Berga, are completely new to this event. The third and sixth stages are run past La Pobla de Lillet, which is at high altitude [1174 metres] and passes a ski centre. The weather can be changeable in this region.
There is a new Service Area on the west side of Vic, operating on the three days of the rally.
There will be a different Shakedown Service Park on the Thursday, at the usual location beneath the famous viaduct on the C25 road.
New date, back again in October, the traditional fixture for the event, 18 months since the last Catalunya Rally.
FIA World Rally Championship news:
The FIA World Motor Sport Council confirmed the various proposals for the 2004 season, notably a 16 round championship.
Events will be organised under two alternative systems, the recommended '1000 Pistes' system, or a system in which there is no morning reconnaissance each day, but instead the organisers will advise crews about recent changes in the conditions on the stages.
The World Council has given teams the opportunity to nominate the second driver on an event-to-event basis, although the number one driver must be nominated for the whole season.
