Friday | 19 Sep 2014

News in Brief: Wales / Spain / M-Sport

A selection of stories that are making the news in the WRC:

Evans design contest: Students at secondary schools and colleges across Wales have the opportunity to design part of the livery for Elfyn Evans’ Ford Fiesta RS at November’s Wales Rally GB.

The Welshman usually sports his country’s flag on the car’s roof vent, but that will be replaced for the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship by the winning entry in a competition organised by the Engineering Education Scheme Wales.

Barcelona opener: Organisers of RallyRACC Rally de España (23 - 26 October have confirmed the event’s opening street stage in Barcelona will be in the heart of the city.

The Thursday evening test will take place on the lower part of Montjuïc hill, which overlooks the city’s harbour. The area is home to the city’s Olympic stadium and the roads hosted the Spanish Grand Prix F1 race on four occasions.

Barcelona street stage

Drivers will tackle two laps of a 1.6km asphalt route before returning to the rally base in Salou ahead of three days of action in the hills above the Costa Daurada coast. The stage will be broadcast live on television.

Montjuïc also hosted the opening stages of the 1986 rally, when it was a round of the European championship.

M-Sport’s sights on silver: M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson believes his team can secure the runners-up position in the WRC manufacturers’ series.

Volkswagen clinched the title for a second season at Coates Hire Rally Australia but the battle for second could go down to the final round at Wales Rally GB, with 13 points covering Citroen in second, M-Sport in third and Hyundai in fourth.

“The battle for second is still very much alive,” said Wilson. “Thanks to a solid drive from both Mikko and Elfyn in Australia, we’re in a really strong position to challenge for the runners-up sport, just eight points adrift with some strong events to come.”

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