The 2006
FIA World Rally Championship resumes this weekend following the long summer break and Germany will be the first stop as the WRC moves into the second half of the season.
The event, which is round nine in the series, uses asphalt roads in the Mosel and Saarland regions in the far west of Germany, with Trier, the oldest city in the country, as permanent rally headquarters.
The rally’s location in central Europe attracts spectators from all over the continent and an estimated 200,000 fans are expected to make the pilgrimage this year for what will be the final tarmac event of the season.
While rally HQ and parc ferme will be in the centre of Trier, the service area will be located in Bostalsee, a small holiday resort approximately 70 kilometres from Trier. The rally comprises 351.55 competitive kilometres and 19 special stages, including a spectator-friendly Superspecial in Sankt Wendel on Saturday night. One new stage will be run (Grafschaft Veldenz) on leg one. The ceremonial start will take place at the Porta Nigra, the arch built by the Romans in the centre of Trier, at 2000hrs on Thursday August 10. The podium finish is scheduled for 1224hrs in Trier
Special notes:
The event may be pure asphalt, but the rally has one of the widest varieties of tarmac on the calendar as each leg has a distinctly different character.
Day one’s stages are run in the vineyards of the Mosel, one of Germany’s largest wine producing areas, and dry leaves and squashed grapes combine to make an exceptionally greasy surface. On the second day of competitive action crews’ move to the tank training ranges of the Baumholder military ground where the roads are flanked with huge, unforgiving concrete kerbstones, known locally as ‘Hinkelsteins.’ The wide asphalt sections are abrasive and dirty, while a fine dusting of sand makes them very slippery when wet. The final day’s action takes place on the smoother, fast Saarland roads.
