Monte Carlo : Ford World Rally Team - PreviewJust 53 days after ending its FIA World Rally Championship winning season with victory in Britain, back-to-back manufacturers' champion Ford launches its title defence on the legendary Rallye Monte Carlo (24-27 January).
Much
is new for 2008 in the Blue Oval squad with a new team identity, a striking new colour scheme for its all-conquering Focus RS World Rally Car and an exciting new driver line-up which blends youth and experience.
The newly-named BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team heads into the opening round of the 15-event series with the same-specification Focus RS that lifted the 2007 title. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen, who finished third in the drivers' championship last season after winning three events, will be joined by fellow Finns Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila, who have been promoted to the official works team after two years in the privately-entered Stobart VK M-Sport line-up.
At just 27 and 22 years old respectively, both have youth in their favour but also have plenty of experience with 70 and 52 WRC starts to their names.
Once again based in Valence, Rallye Monte Carlo is essentially an asphalt event on technically straight-forward roads but unpredictable weather can make it devilishly difficult. Drivers can face dry roads, streaming wet asphalt and treacherous ice, with the threat of snow on higher ground.
They can often encounter all on the same stage as the route climbs and descends inhospitable mountain cols, switching from southern facing roads sheltered from extreme weather to exposed northern ones.
The rally can be won or lost on a good or bad tyre choice.
Each group of speed tests can contain stages which offer vastly different conditions and must be tackled on rubber chosen more than three hours before the action begins. There is no perfect choice for such weather, especially with new regulations restricting the options available. Frequently the secret for success is selecting compromise tyres which lose least time in the 'wrong' conditions.
The rally retains many of last year's innovations while adding several more for 2008. The opening three days are based in Valence, but then the event heads south to Monaco for a fourth day of action high above the Principality in the mountains of the Alpes Maritimes.
This is the only WRC round to run four full days' competition. Thursday evening's opening action is in darkness throughout and heads into the Vercors mountains, east of Valence. On Friday the route moves south-west of the city into the Ardèche before Saturday's longest day of the rally north-west of Valence. A free transit section takes competitors to Monaco before Sunday's final loop, which brings the return of the legendary Col de Turini after a year's absence.
After the success of last year's test, the rally ends with a short super special stage around the harbour area of Monaco's Grand Prix circuit. Drivers tackle 19 stages in total, covering 365.09km in a route of 1481.25km.
Source Ford World Rally Team
