While the 2007 World Rally Championship will be fought out between Marcus Grönholm and defending world champion Sebastian Loeb on Wales Rally GB, another title will also be decided this weekend, as a different Citroën driver similarly pushes flat-out for glory.
In his maiden full campaign of rallying this year, Jason Pritchard has dominated the C2R2 Cup – a one-make series based on the Citroën C2 – and after claiming the series lead on the opening round he has yet to relinquish it, ahead of what looks set to be considerably the toughest outing of the year for the Builth Wells ace and Brecon co-driver Martin Jones.
“We have had a mixed season,” the 19-year-old said. “We had an opening round win but have also suffered mechanical problems, and we now look forward to our most challenging test to-date. My pace has increased through the year and I have gained a lot of experience along the way.
“We are really looking forward to the chance to compete on our first world championship event. This weekend will be our most testing, not just for Martin and myself but for the whole team, and it should make for a real showdown to the championship.”
Wales Rally GB will roar into life with a ceremonial start in Cardiff on Thursday, 29 November, before the action proper gets underway in the south Welsh forests on Friday, moving into Mid-Wales on Saturday. A super-special stage in Cardiff's celebrated Millennium Stadium will follow, before the event concludes in the West Wales forests on Sunday.
Whilst 2007 MSA British Rally Academy member Pritchard treats Wales Rally GB as his local round of the championship – with the Saturday special timed stages within 20 miles of his home – he knows this will offer little advantage to his game plan.
“We need to treat the rally as an endurance event,” the FCS Lasermail and North Road Garage-backed star underlined, “as the competitive distance is totalling over 350 kilometres. The event is a double points' score and we need the points for the championship. We have to preserve the car throughout.”
