The 2006
FIA World Rally Championship heads to the French island of Corsica this weekend - where the legendary Tour de Corse will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Based near Ajaccio, the Rallye de France will also play host to the third round of the 2006 Junior WRC.
Comprising 354.18 competitive kilometres, the 2006 Tour de Corse route is largely unchanged from last year.
The formidable Vico – Col de Sarzoggiu has been shortened by 2.1km to finish at the Plage de Liamone and the Penitencier Coti – Pietra Rossa stage makes a return to the itinerary. The stage was last used in 2004.
No stage is shorter than 24km and the route has one of the highest ratios of competitive kilometres to overall distance.
There's also a new location for the ceremonial start in Place du Casone, where cars will cross the ramp in the shadow of a monument to Napoleon, who was born on the island.
Special notes:
Just like Rally Catalunya two weeks ago, the Tour de Corse is an asphalt event, although the characteristics of both differ hugely.
The Spanish asphalt is relatively smooth and new, whereas the Corsican tarmac can be coarse and abrasive. Drivers go deep into the corners in Spain, however cutting corners in Corsica is rare as the narrow roads hug the sides of the mountains. With sheer rock face on one side and steep drops on the other, getting exactly the right line in Corsica is crucial.
Dubbed the 'rally of ten thousand corners', the event is characterised by hard acceleration away from one corner before braking heavily for the next within a few hundred metres. The g-forces generated in the corners are the highest in the championship – at times in excess of 1.5g laterally, more than double the amount generated by a standard road-going car.
The Corsican weather can be as dramatic as the landscape. Within an hour bright sunshine can give way to heavy rain as warm sea air meets the cool mountain breeze.
