Later this week the Production Car World Rally Championship teams make their maiden foray on the Rally of Turkey. The event, which has been on the WRC calendar since 2003, is for the first time also being run as a PCWRC event this season.
After the Cyprus Rally three weeks ago, Production Car crews will again have to battle rough and rutted gravel stages, remarkably similar to those on the last event. Run in the Anatolian mountains, the conditions will again test the mettle – and patience, of the competitors as they resist the urge to go too quickly over the battered surfaces, risking losing everything in the process.
While not quite as ‘slow` and twisty an event as Cyprus, the Rally of Turkey is however, expected to be a ‘car killer`. The rock-strewn stages that characterize the rally will no doubt take out a few of even the most seasoned entrants before the end of Leg three this coming Sunday afternoon.
Another factor facing the teams is the heat. Similar again to Cyprus, temperatures are expected to rise well above the 30°C mark, although the fact that some of the stages are at a fairly high altitude may provide a little respite from the Mediterranean heat.
Centered around the town of Kemer, the three-day event covers 350 kilometres over 18 competitive stages. The rally begins on Friday, June 3rd and winds up on Sunday afternoon, June 5th.
While slightly lower temperatures may mean an easier time for drivers, the same may not be true for the cars. Higher altitudes bring their own set of characteristics to the machines, including making brakes and engines work harder to provide the same performance in the thinner air.
As this is a maiden event for the PCWRC teams, not a lot is known about how the cars will react to the conditions. Interestingly, this is one of only two events this year where all 21 PCWRC entrants have chosen to run (the other being the season-ending Rally Australia). That means there will be twelve SUBARU Imprezas from the Production Car World Rally Championship on the stages here in Turkey this weekend.
Although it`s impossible to tell exactly what to expect in terms of tyres until the start of the event, the Pirelli-shod cars may have a slight advantage on the rough Turkish terrain.
Toshi Arai – first in PCWRC standings – 20 points:
“This is a new event for nearly all the drivers in the PCWRC. However, Marcos Ligato and Fabio Frisiero have been here before in Super 1600, so they may have a slight advantage knowledge-wise of the event. I expect it to be a big fight on this rally between the top seven or eight Production Car drivers, including Xavier Pons. Looking over the last few years, now is the time to consolidate rather than gain an advantage with a high-speed attack. We will judge our pace based on the pace of our rivals throughout the event.”
Marcos Ligato – third in PCWRC – 12 points:
“I was here 2 years ago, but the stages have changed so completely since then that I cannot even use my old notes! Therefore, I don`t feel I have any advantage over the other competitors. I really want to underline the pace of the Barattero cars here in Turkey with a top result. At the same time, it is important to keep some safety and finish the rally.”
Brice Tirabassi – fourth in PCWRC – 10 points:
“After the disappointment of New Zealand, it was great to score so well in Cyprus. To really have a chance in the championship, I must stay on the podium until the end of the year - and that`s what I intend to do. The stages today bear no resemblance to the event of two years ago. I`m really looking forward to the event this weekend.”
Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah – fifth in PCWRC – 9 points:
“I`m feeling fresh and relaxed after my world championship shooting competition in Italy, and am keen to underline my leading pace on this rally. I`m looking for nothing less than a podium finish.”
Sebastian Beltran – seventh in PCWRC – 8 points:
“After my unexpected but very welcome result in Cyprus, I hope to be matching or running close to the top drivers on this rally. It`s a good surprise to find such nice stages here in Turkey as we had expected it to be twistier, narrower and rougher than it`s turned out to be. I`m looking forward to running strong this weekend.”
Gabriele Pozzo – tenth in PCWRC – 5 points:
“I`m surprised at the roads because we had expected much twistier and rougher conditions. Today the stages have been very wet and slippery, more like a rally of Great Britain run in the winter. I expect the stages to dry out, providing some very high speeds and challenging sections. I`m really looking forward to the event.”
George Donaldson – STI Group N Project General Manager:
“The organisers have been working hard in the run-up to this year`s event, with the roads up to 2 metres wider in some parts than on the initial event in 2003. The stages will be tricky as cars cutting corners are bound to drag rocks onto the road, and this could easily spell disaster for those following behind - which could be a bit of an issue. The event has changed greatly over the past two years, and is now much faster, resembling something more like the Greek stages. As for temperatures, the event posted a high of over 45 degrees last year; though on today`s recce, we had a top temperature of only 18 Celsius.
"We had only three cars at the pre-event test. There was no test for most of the teams as a number of competitors didn`t have their cars here in time after the last event. Only Aki Teiskonen and Hamed Al Wahaibi were on the test today, and while it was a success, the roads were not as representative of the roads on the actual rally, being a little narrower and rougher than we expect for this weekend.”

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