Preview: Telstra Rally Australia.

The 16th Telstra Rally Australia takes place this weekend, the tenth round in the 2003 FIA World Rally Championship. Oz will also play host to the penultimate round in the 2003 FIA Production Car WRC.

This is the final long-haul rally of the season. Being an event held outside Europe, world championship teams are forbidden any pre-event test work except at the official shakedown sessions.

There are many detailed changes this year, but essentially the character of the event remains unchanged, which is speed over uniquely difficult driving conditions created by ball-bearing type stones which proliferate the stages.

The event is held on a new date, the first weekend in September.

New this year:

There is a new Clerk of the Course and Chairman of the Organising Committee. Adrian Stafford, previously Deputy Clerk, assumes the position previously held by Garry Connelly.

A new rally headquarters is based at Gloucester Park and there is also a new superspecial stage location at Gloucester Park.

Every stage but one is either new, changed or in the opposite direction. There will be a single service park location for the first time, therefore no more servicing in Perth.

The rally route is more contained than before and does not go east to Muresk or down south to Wellington or Brunswick Stages.

There is a new 'shire road' stage (normal public road, stage 4, still on gravel), as an alternative to the usual forest roads. Also, another stage has never been used before on the actual rally, stage 7 (Turner Hill), which has been previously used as a road for private preevent testing.

There will be a double special stage on the Saturday evening, at Gloucester Park. On the Thursday and Friday the stages will be tackled once by each driver.

FIA World Rally Championship news:

News from the Manufacturers' teams:

Marlboro Peugeot Total:

[Marcus Gronholm, car #1 and Richard Burns, car #2. Also nominated Harri Rovanpera, car #3.]

The long rumoured new 307 WRC car is being launched at the Frankfurt motor show. Meanwhile Subaru have announced Burns is to join their team at the end of the year and Mitsubishi have said that Peugeot's joint number three driver Gilles Panizzi will join them. For 2004, Peugeot have confirmed Gronholm, Rovanpera and Freddy Loix.

Citroen Total:

[Colin McRae, car #17 and Sebastien Loeb, car #18. Also nominated Carlos Sainz, car #19.]

First time the full works team has entered this event. Citroen is still well ahead of their rival teams in terms of mechanical reliability. Nearly all their retirements so far have been related to external influences. Only two out of 29 entries can be said to have resulted in retirement for genuine mechanical failures.

Ford Motor Company:

[Markko Martin car #4 and Francois Duval, car #5, in 2003
specification cars. Also nominated Mikko Hirvonen, car #6 in a 2002 version car.]

Pre-event testing was carried out in Spain in mid August near Vic and then also at Michelin's test track near Clermont Ferrand. Jari-Matti Latvala is not contesting this event as it clashes with the Ulster Rally, a qualifying round in the British championship.

555 Subaru World Rally Team:

[Petter Solberg, car #7 and Tommi Makinen, car #8.]

On August 18th Tommi Makinen announced his retirement from rallying. World champion in 1996 through 1999, he will have contested 139 world championship rallies and so far has won 24 of them, a record only beaten by Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz and equalled by Juha Kankkunen.

Skoda Motorsport:

[Didier Auriol, car #14 and Toni Gardemeister, car #15.]

This will be the first rally in which the alternative Unic transmission system is to be used on Fabia on gravel. With the two Mediterranean asphalt events coming soon, the team have meanwhile been carrying out tarmac testing instead.

After Finland, Didier Auriol had an operation to alleviate his shoulder discomfort, while Gardemeister broke a bone in his wrist playing hockey. There was a rush to mend both drivers before the journey to Australia, but finally both have reported fit though Gardemeister has to wear a plaster.

Hyundai World Rally Team:

[Armin Schwarz, car #10 and Freddy Loix, car #11.]

Planned entries for guest works drivers Manfred Stohl and Justin Dale have been cancelled. The main news for the team however has been the resignation of senior event engineer Graham Moore. Responsibility for technical work is now being shared between chief designer Mark Way and engineer Graeme Garvin.

News from the Production Car WRC:

12 PCWRC drivers are due to start the event. This will be the final event in the series for Singh and Holowczyc.

Five drivers still in the championship nominated this as the event they would miss: Geradzhiev, Frisiero, Richard, De Dominicis and Trivino. There are only two drivers who have yet to score, Geradzhiev and Frisiero.

Six drivers are still mathematically able to win the title (Arai, Rowe, Singh, Blomqvist, Sola and Ligato). Only Arai can clinch the title on this event.

Top Run confirms their PCWRC teammates in Germany Frisiero and Ligato both retired because of a faulty supply of clutches. For this event they are sending only one car, an Evo VII for Ligato.

Three drivers have withdrawn for medical reasons. Colsoul because of ligament injuries suffered playing football. Holowczyc due to sinus difficulties while Giovanni Manfrinato is currently under medical supervision for a heart ailment.

Reigning champion Singh contested the Rally of Malaysia the same weekend as Finland. He was leading until gearbox failure just before the finish, giving an unexpected victory to 56 year old New Zealander Brian Green.

Other top runners:

This is an event where local drivers are expected to be very competitive against the PCWRC championship regulars, Group N is the premier formula in national championship events. Look for good performances from Ordynski in Mitsubishi and Crocker and Herridge in Subarus. Watch out also for Juha Kangas, the Finnish driver who last year contested the JWRC and this year has been contesting the Australian national series in a privately run car.

Simon Jean-Joseph is to drive the ex-Manfrinato Nocentini team Evo VII simply to 'discover' the rally. "This will be my first rally in a Group N car," said Jean-Joseph, "I am just hoping to learn, I won't check my times, and I am going to drive like a farmer."

Special facts:

The Gloucester Park venue is the eighth different superspecial location used on this event, starting with the stage over the half-built main road complex over the Narrows, Richmond Raceway in Fremantle, Whiteman Park in the north of the city, Curtin University (where Sainz rolled), Burswood Casino, Victoria Quay also in Fremantle, the stage round the streets of Northbridge and of course Langley Park, the venue for the original downtown airport. Another curious stage was one held on asphalt up the zig-zag hills to the east of the city.