During the summer break there were a number of developments on the WRC front with
Petter Solberg signing a new deal that will see him remain with the SWRT for another three seasons.
The
FIA also revealed the calendar for 2007, with Cyprus, Turkey and Australia axed to make way for Norway, Ireland and Portugal. On the regulation front there were also a number of other changes, with the SupeRally format being tweaked for 2007 and a move to a single tyre supplier confirmed for 2008, when run-flat mousse will also be outlawed.
Related to that, Pirelli have also revealed that they will quit the WRC at the end of this year, something that means BF Goodrich will almost certainly be the sole supplier next year, one year prior to FIA plans’ to end the tyre war. Pirelli's decision brings to a close a 34 year involvement in the sport, with the exception of 1992, which they missed due to financial problems.
In other news in the build-up to this event, Pirelli confirmed that they will back
Gigi Galli again this season and as such he will compete in Finland, in a Peugeot 307-run by BSA, not Bozian Racing, who prepared for car for his last three outings in France, Argentina and Sardinia.
Over 100 crews are set to compete in Finland next weekend - the biggest entry to date this season on an event, while the organisers of the Rally Japan have also confirmed their entry list, with 90 crews set to start there next month. Kronos will again run Daniel Sordo in the #2 car and as such he will once again be eligible to score manufacturers’ points, continuing the change implemented for Germany and Finland, with Xavier Pons demoted to the third car.
News from the Manufacturers' teams:
Manufacturer 1.
Kronos Total Citroen:
[
Sebastien Loeb, car #1 and
Daniel Sordo, car #2]
Sebastien Loeb reckons the battle for the win this weekend will be very tight. Loeb will arrive in Germany though as the undisputed favourite, not only has he again been ‘the man’ this year and currently leads the race for the drivers’ championship by 29 points, but he has also won the event in Germany every single year, since it joined the WRC schedule back in 2002.
