Preview: ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

The 22nd International ADAC Rallye Deutschland takes place this weekend, the eighth round in the 2003 FIA World Rally Championship. Germany will also play host to the fifth round in 2003 FIA Production Car WRC.

This is the first of four clear asphalt events of the season and is also the second time for Germany in the FIA World Rally Championship. It also marks the first event in second half of the season.

This is a rally where stages are run in three different regions each of which possess distinct characteristics. Stages are run in the vineyards north of Trier, on the military tank test grounds close to Baumholder, and on closed public roads stages south-east around St Wendel. It is the only world rally held close to the geographic centre of Europe: last year 40 per cent of the 225,000 spectators were from other countries.

Both the Shakedown sessions take place on the Thursday. 81 entries were received.

New this year:

The Rally is one month earlier in the year than in 2002.

There is a new philosophy of route management, this year the event visits each of the three main regions every day. There will be more spectator areas while all other areas are classified as "no-go" zones for spectators.

There is a new shakedown location, close to the Service Park at Bostalsee. The same service park will operate on all four days.

All except one stage will be changed from last year, though usually only in small details.

There has been a special marshal training scheme and will be an increase in the number of spectator marshals. Clerk of the Course Armin Kohl returns to this position, replacing Friedhelm Kissel, another recent addition to the management is that Bertil Klarin, General Manager of the Swedish Rally and former Clerk of the Course, will be Deputy Clerk of the Course on this event.

This year the PCWRC cars will compete here, last year it was the turn of the JWRC.

FIA World Rally championship news:

Peugeot, Citroen and Ford have all scored on every round so far. While championship leader Richard Burns has always scored points when he has finished, Cyprus was his first and only retirement this year. Only second placed driver Carlos Sainz has now finished every rally this year, but twice he finished out of the points.

News from the Manufacturer's teams:

Marlboro Peugeot Total:

[Marcus Gronholm, car #1 and Richard Burns, car #2. Also nominated Gilles Panizzi, car #3]

There have been recent personal dramas for both Gronholm (an infection in an elbow, six days in hospital) and Panizzi (broken ribs during testing) but both should be fit for the event. Last year Panizzi missed Deutschland because of a shoulder injury. The factory team has prepared a car for Cedric Robert, French federation's officially supported young driver, who came sixth at Monte Carlo and who has been busy this year testing for Peugeot.

Giving something back to the sport: Richard Burns visited the Under 17 Car Club at the Castle Combe circuit in Britain, the club where he learned to drive at the age of 11. Co-driver Robert Reid gave lectures to Peugeot club co-drivers at Jim Clark Rally. Burns drove a 205 at Goodwood.

Citroen Total:

[Colin McRae, car #17 and Sebastien Loeb, car #18. Also nominated Carlos Sainz, car #19. Also entered but not nominated Philippe Bugalski, car #20.]

Citroen have been the winners of last two Deutschland Rallies. This will be the first time four works entered Xsaras have been entered on the same event and the first rally for Bugalski in 2003.

Bugalski was the 2001 German Rally winner, and later that year had scored Citroen's first world rally win. In 1999 he became the final person to win a world rally in a two-wheel drive car. This year Bugalski has been busy in development testing for the team but will contest the four remaining asphalt events, in a car identical to the official team cars but run by the Spanish Piedrafita team.

Technical changes for this event include larger rear brake discs and engine improvements. On the eve of the first anniversary of his first world rally win, Citroen extended Loeb's contract until the end of 2005.

555 Subaru World Rally Team:

[Petter Solberg, car #7 and Tommi Makinen, car #8.]

Petter Solberg drove his Network Q winning Impreza WRC at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, specially restored for the occasion.

The team had sad news when their American championship crew Mark Lovell and Roger Freeman died during the Oregon Trails Rally. Lovell was the 1986 British rally champion, while Freeman was co-driver to Toshihiro Arai in the FIA Teams' Cup winner team in 2000. During his career, Lovell had been national rally champion in four different countries - Britain, Holland, Ireland and USA.

Ford Motor Company:

[Markko Martin car #4 and Francois Duval, car #5, in 2003 specification cars. Also nominated Mikko Hirvonen, car #6 in a 2002 version car. Also entered Jari-Matti Latvala, car #24.]

Markko Martin won the EOS Rally in his native Estonia, testing new hydraulic pump designed to overcome ongoing differential problems. Latvala will have a new co-driver Miikka Anttila, the regular co-driver for Kosti Katajamaki in the Junior World Rally Championship. Previous co-driver Carl Williamson was hospitalised with a dislocated leg and pelvis injuries suffered in their accident on the Jim Clark Memorial Rally in Britain. On this event Martin drives the 50th Focus WRC to be built, while the event will be the 50th world rally for co-driver Park.

Skoda Motorsport:

[Didier Auriol, car #14 and Toni Gardemeister, car #15.]

Debut competition appearance for the Fabia World Rally Car, the first new model World Rally Car since the Xsara in Catalunya 2001. Main changes to the car since it was officially launched at Geneva Motor Show in early March have been to under bonnet cooling systems and externally by a different livery.

Hyundai World Rally Team:

[Armin Schwarz, car #10 and Freddy Loix, car #11. Also nominated Manfred Stohl, car #12, also entered Justin Dale, car #25].

The team have a four-day test before the event, the first asphalt test for the team this year. First works drive for Manfred Stohl, who even at 31 years old is already a rally veteran. His first world rally was in Ivory Coast 1991, he was FIA Group N Cup champion in 2000, between active competition he is a rally manager who runs Constantin
Aur's Mitsubishi in the PCWRC. His most recent world rally, Greece, was his 70th world rally appearance.

Mitsubishi back again!

Mitsubishi at Rugby make their second WRC appearance this year, again with two "Step 2'' cars driven by the Finns Jani Paasonen and Kristian Sohlberg. MMSP President Sven Quandt explained: "I have not forgotten Alister McRae, but I chose two young drivers for this event, to see how they perform on asphalt". It is the first world rally the team has entered under the company's new name MMSP although they have not entered the championship itself. The name Ralliart now refers only to privateer activities, Group N and special formulae work, which is now based in Germany. The cars are run in exactly the same specification as last year: all development work is now being carried out of the new car to be announced at the end of the season.

News from the Production Car WRC:

This is the first of two PCWRC rounds to be held on asphalt this year, the other will be the final round, Corsica. Last year there was only one, which drivers could elect not to contest.

For reigning champion Karamjit Singh this is his first ever asphalt event! When he returns from the APRC Rotorua Rally in New Zealand, he plans to gain asphalt driving experience in tests in Poland. The two drivers in the David Sutton Cars team (Rowe and Blomqvist) are the only drivers in the series to have finished every round they have entered so far.

Team changes: for this event De Dominicis moves from Ralliart Italia to Cilti Sport and Fabio Frisiero goes to Top Run. Top Run's regular driver Marcos Ligato (who has been recently back home in Argentina) like the Venice driver Frisiero will drive an Evo VII.

Patrick Richard recently ended a spell of bad luck when he won the Rallye Baie des Chaleurs back home in Canada with his Subaru. Ligato and Richard are currently joint leaders in the Rally Series of North America, which is a candidate FIA zone championship, after the first two rounds.

This will be the first rally on asphalt in a Group N car for JWRC champion Daniel Sola, who will make prior tests in Italy to gain some experience. It will be his MRT team-mate Ramon Ferreyros' first event in Germany: "I do not know what to expect. Everyone you ask gives a different reply! I am hoping it will be a bit like Belgium, where I rallied for many years in the past".

Romanian champion Constantin Aur is hoping for an immediate change in fortunes. "I hope this time I can at least finish, so many enthusiasts from my country will be coming to watch this event!"

One famous face will be missing: the championship leader and winner of three rounds so far, Arai is the only PCWRC competitors to have chosen this event to miss. 20 crews are due to start in the PCWRC category.

Other top runners:

Roman Kresta competes with the Bozian team Peugeot 206WRC, having won the Bohemia Rally based at the Skoda city Mlada Boleslav two weeks earlier.

Special facts:

Something is special this year about the Belgian Ford driver Francois Duval and number 5 this year. He competes on every world rally this year with number 5. He has retired three times this year, on every other event, each time on the 5th stage.

18 year old Latvala is not alone! Two other young drivers are to be seen at the wheel of World Rally Cars on this event are Czech driver Jan Kopecky and Slovakian Tibor Cserhalmi, both 21 years old. Last year both of them also drove WRCars on this event, when they were 20!

The Fabia is the eleventh car model to be homologated by the FIA under the World Rally Car formula, and Skoda is only the second manufacturer (after Ford) to have homologated a second car model. Since the World Rally Car formula began in 1997, no fewer than nine manufacturers have competed with these cars.