The 17th Telstra Rally Australia takes place this coming weekend - the final round out of sixteen in the 2004
FIA World Rally Championship.
Oz will also play host to the seventh and final round in the 2004 FIA Production Car WRC.
Commencing on Thursday 11 September with a spectator-pleasing, head-to-head sprint around a Super Special stage at Gloucester Park, the proper stage action will start on Friday 12 September.
Comprising 388 competitive kilometres and 25 stages, the rally will be based around a single service park in the Western Australia capital city of Perth. The longest stage of the event will be the 35.64km Bannister North Long test, used in Leg three, while the shortest will be the Perth City Super Special, which is used five times during the event.
The rally, and 2004 season, will conclude when the winning car crosses the finish ramp on Sunday at 1600hrs.
Special notes:
For the first time in the history of the World Rally Championship, teams are going 'down under' to Australia to contest the final round of the series. In contrast to the muddy forest roads of Wales where the season has traditionally come to a close, this year's finale will take place on the sun-drenched gravel stages of Western Australia, where drivers will face a different yet equally demanding challenge.
Renowned for its unforgiving mixture of slippery gravel and narrow tree-lined stages, this year's Telstra Rally Australia has moved two months later in the WRC calendar to the height of the Australian summer, adding another dimension to an already difficult event.
Famous for it's treacherous road surface, that features a loose covering of marble-like gravel on top of a hard-packed base, grip levels can be very low. In dry conditions, those running first on the road will face a considerable disadvantage as they sweep the slippery surface for those behind, while those further down the order will benefit as the base layer becomes more exposed with the passing of every car.
