Night stages for Wales Rally GB

This years Wales Rally GB, the 75^th anniversary of the event, will see a return to night rallying.  The rally, which starts on November 29, is the final round of this year’s World Rally Championship.

Speaking at yesterday’s official launch in Cardiff, Andrew Coe, chief executive of event organiser IMS, said "As this is  the 75th anniversary of the running of the first event,  we want to recall  some of the traditions of the event, from the days when it was called the RAC  Rally and ran non-stop through several nights.

"On the Friday and Saturday we will have special regrouping halts, so that even the first cars will be held back and we will make certain every car will tackle the night stages in equal conditions."

Supported once again by the Welsh Assembly Government, which has pledged its association for another five years, the rally will again be based at Cardiff, where the start and finish will be held. The city's Milennium Stadium will again host a Saturday evening stage.

Only a few changes will be made to the actual route, however the service park, formerly held on the outskirts of Cardiff, will be relocated to the central waterfront area of Swansea.

Welshman Phil Mills, co-driver for Petter Solberg, endorsed the concept of the night stages.

"These will certainly be the turning point of the event. It will also be an interesting test in pace note making, taking account of the fact that competitors could easily encounter fog on these stages," he said.