Regulation changes have little negative impactSixty four drivers have entered the second World Rally Championship event in 2008 - Uddeholm Swedish Rally - February 7-10 with start and finish in Karlstad, Sweden. This year there will also be quite a number of entrants in
the Swedish Rally Championship event held at February 8-10.
"Just like the old times," said Clerk of the Course Mr Bertil Klarin. "There are surprisingly many drivers entering the rally. I thought that the new tyre regulation might have a negative impact - but I´m glad to be wrong in that respect."
All of the works teams are entered into the event as expected. Citroën with the reigning champion
Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo. Ford with the Finn duo Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala and a third car driven by Al Quassimi from the United Arab Emirates.
Subaru has entered the popular Norwegian driver and former winner of the rally Petter Solberg together with Chris Atkinson.
The newcomer among the manufacturers, Suzuki, enters the Finn Tony Gardemeister and the double Junior Rally Champion Per-Gunnar Andersson from Årjäng, not far from Karlstad in the Värmland region.
You will also find Swede Daniel Carlsson in the list entered in a Peugeot 307 WRC and also his main combatant from the 2006 rally - Gigi Galli - this year entered by the Ford Stobart team where you will also find Henning Solberg and Malcolm Wilson.
Uddeholm Swedish Rally will be the premiere round of the PWRC - the class for production cars with not less than 41 cars entered. Of those cars 21 will fight for World Championship points. One interesting entry is the Finn Kristian Sohlberg for the first time in this rally in a Super 2000 Fiat Punto Abarth.
Source Rally Sweden
