Two weeks after the inaugural Rally Ireland, the FIA World Rally Cham🌼pionship now heads to Wales for the final rally of the season.

Wales Rallꦆy GB is one of the classic events on the WRC calendar, and the varied nature of the gravel roads, coupled with the traditionally unsettled Welsh weather, also make it one of the toughest.

Celebrating its 75th anniversar🍬y this year, Wales Rally GB gets underway on Thursday November 29 with a ceremonial start in the capital city, Cardiff, before moving 65 kilometres west to a brand ne꧙w rally base at the SA1 waterfront complex in Swansea.

The rally consists of 17 stages, which total 359.54 competitive kilometres. The longest stage is Sunday's 28.89km test at Brechfa (SS14/16). The first car is due oꦆnto the f♚inish ramp in Cardiff's Cathays Park at 15.10 (local time) on Sunday December 2.

Special notes:

The undulating forest tracks of South Wales always provide 🐼a stern challenge for drivers, and December's wintry weather is bound make conditions even more difficult.

The first stage of the rally, Port Talbot, is a ♐revised version of the former Margam stage. Together w🎃ith Resolfen and Rheola it forms the opening loop of stages which are run twice on Friday.

Resolfen features 🎶many surface changes and takes the crews 600m up Rhigos Mountain, so fog and ice could be a factor during the first run through the stage on Fridayꦏ morning.

Rheola is no place for a ൲mistake: it is fast, but contains some huge, intimidating drops off the side of the road. The stage also includes the fan-friendly Walters Arena section near the end.

While leg one takes place in the valleys of south Wales, the crews tra༒vel north to the fringes of the Brecon Beacons for leg two.

It includes two runs☂ through a trio of well-known tests: Crychan, Halfway and Epynt, before the day ends with the 1.1km Cardiff Super Special held inside the Millennium Stadium.

In front of an expected sell-out crowd, the evening also hosts a Rally GB⛄ tribute show that will include the Championship winning 1995 Subaru Impreza WRC of Colin McRae and the 2001 variant in which Richard Burns clinched the 2001 Drivers' Champi꧋onship.

The third and final leg comprises two runs through Brechfa and Trawscoed. Thes🦄e two long stages take place on a hard-packed surface🌼, but while the former test is fast and features some long, cambered corners, the latter is much tighter and strewn with hairpins.

FIA World Rally Championship news:

Sebastien Loeb re-took the lead in the battle for the 2007 FIA World Rally drivers' championship following his victory on the Rally Ireland two weeksꦚ ago. Loeb noඣw leads by 6 points, after Marcus Gronholm crashed out on the asphalt event and failed to score.

In the 🧜Manufacturers' championship, the BP 🐟Ford WRT secured its second consecutive crown, as the Citroen Total WRT is now too far back to make up the deficit.

Ford 'B' team, the Stobart squad mea💮nwhile moved up to thirౠd - one point in front of Subaru.

As for the Production Car World Rally Championship, Gabriel Pozzo did enough to keep his title hopes alive by taking second place. He now needs to win this weeken⛦d though to overhaul Toshi Arai and secure the PWRC honoꦅurs. Mark Higgins is no longer in contention.

News from the Manufacturers' teams:

Citroen Total WRT:

[Sebastien Loeb, car #1 and Daniel Sordo, car #2]

Loeb: Title the priority.

Sebastien Loeb has conf♐irmed that he wi🅘ll be driving to finish on the Rally GB in order to ensure he picks up enough points to take the 2007 drivers' title.

The Frenchman goes to Wales, six points up on hiꦚs arch rival, Marcus Gronholm and well placed to secure his fourth drivers' crown and equal Tommi Makinen and Juha Kankkunen, the ♍only other drivers' in the history of the WRC to have managed that feat.

If Gronholm wins on Sunday, Loeb only has to bring his C4 WRC h🌳ome in fifth,ℱ as while they would both end the season with 114 points, Seb would take the title on the count-back with eight wins to Marcus' six.

"Unless the event produces a 🐬big surprise, we probably won't be adding our names to the list of past winners of this event this time round," Loeb admitted. "I don't mind, however, if that means securing a fourth world title.

"We lead by six points, so we won't𓂃 need to win at all costs. Should Marcus win, we will have to finish in at least fifth place to make sure of the title. That would put us equal on points but we have more wins to our n🧜ame.

"We will consequently need to find a pace that permits us to finish inside the top-five. I don't enjoy driving to finish but, given the importance of the stakes, it's only logical▨," he adde﷽d.

Loeb has done the Rally GB six times to date and it is one of the few events he has never won - his best results, two second places in 2003 and 2004🦂 and a third place finish in 2005. He missed the event last year after his mountain bike accident, which forced him to sit out the final four events.

"The Wales Rally GBও has never gone wel෴l for us in a WRC car," he added. "We didn't even start the 2006 event!

"However, the stages haven't changed💃 much in recent years so I hope our absence last year won't be too much of a handicap. The way the Rally of Ne𓆉w Zealand went suggests it shouldn't be."

Loeb's team-mate, Daniel So♐rdo meanwhile𝓰 has only contested Rally GB once before and as such he has modest objectives for the Welsh event.

"Above all, I will be looking to finish," he stated. "ꦅIt will be important for my experience to contest all the stages.

"I have only done Rally GB once before and that was last year with Marc [Marti - my co-driver] driving the Xsara WRC. Given that it was our first a🔴ttempt, our times weren't too bad and I was pleased about that. I enjoyed the s🐎tages which I found to be rough and technical, with some very fast portions which put the accent on driving ability.

"I didn't li൩ke the fog, though. Whe𒆙n you lack benchmarks on a terrain like that, it's difficult to be quick.

"We won't be under any particular pressure however, so I will also try to enjoy myself with the C4 WRC and post some decent times compared with our rivals who h🔯ave more experience of the event."

BP Ford WRT:

[Marcus Gronholm, car #3 and Mi🔥kko Hirv🍌onen, car #4]

Gronholm draws strength from Raikkonen comeback.

Marcus Gronholm has said thatꦡ the way Kimi Raikkonen🧜 bounced back to win the Formula 1 drivers' title will spur him on this weekend in Wales.

Gronholm goes to the Rally GB, with everything to do after losing the lead to his arch-rival S?bastien Loe𒅌b in Ireland. He is now six points behind the Frenchman and must win in Wales and hope that Seb finishes sixth or lower to claim the title.

Gronholm, who has൩ been given a clean bill of health after crashing in Ireland, knows he faces a tough task but he hasn't given up hope.

"It will be difficult to win the title but I have a chance and have to make the most of that opportunity. What happened ဣin Formula 1 is a good example," he explained. "With two races left, Kimi R🎃aikkonen had a big gap to make up to win the title - and succeeded.

"That's a big spur for me because for Finland to win both the Formula 1 and the WRC tit﷽les would be something special for ඣmy country. I don't feel under pressure because it is out of my hands now. All I can do is try to win the rally and hope Seb has problems."

The event will be an especially significant one for Gronholm, as it will be his last outing in the WR💧C before he hangs up his helmet for good and retires. Rally GB will also mark a milestone in his career, as it will be his 150th start.

Gronholm is not so concerned with that or win༺ning though, his focus is on taking his third drivers' title.

🎀"This is my 150th WRC start so it would be great to mark that and my last rally with a victory," he added. "But it's the title I'm thinking about. I would swap a win for a top t🧔hree finish and the title if that was all that was required."

🌌Mikko Hirvonen meanwhile has sai🥃d that the uncertain weather will probably be the 'biggest concern'.

He goes to the event with only one tar💝get🔯 and that is to do everything he can to help his team-mate and fellow countryman, Gronholm.

"All we can do is to try to finish in front of Loeb 🔴and do our best to help Marcus," said Hirvonen, who was fourth in Ireland, a result that helped Ford sow up the manufacturers' championship.

"The roads in Wales will be fast and slippery and after my win in Japan l꧋as💖t month, I feel confident in those conditions.

"The uncertain weather is the biggest concern on this rally though. Some stages will be held entirely in the dark and if it rai♔ns or is foggy then it will be extremely tricky.

"I've not driven proper stages in the dark since the Monte Carlo Rally in January but when I began my rallying career in Finland there were plenty of night stages so I'm used to it. Our pace notes will be more precise than usual in case it is foggy in the♛ forests so that's also a benefit for the night stages," added the 27-year-old.

OMV Kronos Citroen WRT:

[Manfred Stohl, car #5]

Stohl going for fifth points finish on trot in GB.

Manfred Stohl has promised that he will attack ℱfrom the off on the Wales Rally GB.

Stohl's future in the WRC - and that of Kronos too - is currently uncertain following OMV's decis💜ion to terminate its sponsorship activities in international and nati🔥onal rally sports.

The Austrian, who has enjoyed s🉐ubstantial backing from the company since 2005, is therefore extremely determined to do well and the fact the season as a whole has not gone especially to plan - he has only notched up 12 points and had six points finishes - will also spur him on.

The signs for GB however are quite promising and he has scored points on the 𒐪Welsh event the last four years in succession, including taking se⛎cond in 2006, one of the best performances of his career.

"We will attack right from the start," confir🍨med the 35-year-old. "This rally suits me very much as is generally known.

"I scored points here four times in a row and last year 💮we were even able to put pressure on eventual winner Marcus Gronholm for quite some time. Also, I have nothing to lose ꦺanymore this year."

Asked 𝕴about the event in more detail, Manfred added that the final day could be especially significant and even though it features only four stages, with 114 competitive kilometres on the bill, it may prove crucial.

"I believe that this is ꦺthe longest final leg in the whole WRC. There the result could be turned completely upside down," he continued. "One will have to stay focused right down to the last kilometre - and if it stays dry the extrem🍒ely high speeds will be a criterion, as well.

"The rhythm of this rally nevertheless suits me and I'm eager to meet this last big challeng🅷e of the year."

For the record, Manf🎉red will be the sole OMV Kronos Citroen WRT team car on Rally GB, as has been the case more often than not throughout🐟 2007.

For more see Part 2 of our preview for the Wales Rally GB.