Preview: Rally Catalunya-Costa Daurada.

The 2006 FIA World Rally Championship heads to Spain this weekend - the first 'true' asphalt event of the year.

The Rally Catalunya has little in common with the earlier sealed surface rally in Monte Carlo and is the fastest of the four asphalt events on the WRC schedule.

Based near Salou, Spain will also play host to the second round of the 2006 Junior WRC.

The action begins with a ceremonial start on the Salou seafront on Thursday night, with the competitive action starting at 0805hrs the next day. The rally comprises 16 stages - with six on leg one, six on leg two and four on the final day.

There's been little change to the route for 2006, although a new 15.85km stage has been created between the towns of Margalef and la Palma d'Ebre. The podium finish will be on the Salou promenade on Sunday at 1456hrs.

As the Rally Catalunya is paired with Corsica's Tour de Corse, which will follow in two weeks time, competitors will use the same cars with one week in between for re-preparation.

Special notes:

The route of Rally Catalunya has changed several times in recent years. In 2005, the event's base moved 200km south from the Costa Brava to the Costa Daurada and to roads that had not been part of World Championship rallying for ten years. Most of the special stages are now based in the mountains of the Tarragona region.

The smooth, wide roads of Rally Catalunya make it the fastest sealed surface rally of the year.

Cutting corners is commonplace as drivers look for every advantage on the stages and accurate pace notes are critical to optimise the racing line. The cars ride lower to the ground than on gravel events, with the suspension set much stiffer to reduce body roll and maximise cornering speeds.

This year the rally has changed dates, moving from late autumn to early spring. The calendar shift brings with it an increased chance of rain and colder temperatures which could make the stages especially dirty and slippery. It could also make tyre choices difficult.

FIA World Rally Championship news:

Sebastien Loeb leads the 2006 FIA World Rally drivers' championship following his win in Mexico earlier this month. Marcus Gronholm has dropped to second, 5 points behind, while Manfred Stohl is third having notched up 11 points.

In the Manufacturers' series Kronos Citroen are top, following their first ever WRC win - 4 points up on BP Ford.

News from the Manufacturers' teams:

Manufacturer 1.

Kronos Total Citroen:

[Sebastien Loeb, car #1 and Xavier Pons, car #2]

Sebastien Loeb will be out to extend his lead at the top of the drivers' championship, after going in front following his win in Mexico. Loeb will be the hot favourite to win, as not only as he been strong on all three events thus far this season, but the Xsara WRC is always strong on asphalt and the Frenchman won this event at the end of last year.

"It is excellent we are now leading both championships," he said. "Everything worked well for us [in Mexico]. However, what we have learnt on the level of the competition is interesting but incomplete. We have done a good job on the Xsara with the transition to the mechanical diffs and it's still a winning car.

"Except for 2002, since it started in 2001 the Xsara has always competed for a win in Catalunya. It's true that in Monte Carlo, which I consider like a tarmac rally, we were fighting in front. It gives us hopes for here. Even if some uncertainty remains especially with the weather and our competitors' level of performance, we will try to win. If we still have that little margin on tarmac, we should take advantage of the situation to score maximum points."

Kronos team boss, Marc van Dalen meanwhile is confident Loeb will again figure in the battle for the victory. He is also hopeful that Xavier Pons and Daniel Sordo will shine in the sister cars.

"With Sebastien, Daniel [Elena], the Xsara and the BFGoodrich tyres, we have one of the most performing combinations on tarmac," he noted. "Our target is to fight with the front-runners. I also hope for a good performance from Xavier [Pons] who has done an excellent race here last year. I would be delighted if he could climb on the podium which he missed so closely last year. I also wish that Dani [Sordo] will surprise us. Overall I am confident but cautious."

BP Ford:

[Marcus Gronholm, car #3 and Mikko Hirvonen, car #4.]

Ford team leader, Marcus Gronholm started the year perfectly by winning the opening two rounds in Monte Carlo and Sweden, however an off on day one in Mexico proved costly and while he managed to charged back up the leaderboard to finish eighth and salvage a point, Loeb took the win and with it the lead in drivers' standings. He now heads to Spain and although he is confident about the performance of the Focus on sealed surfaces, following a positive test last week, he knows too, that the next month or so could be crucial.

"If you look back at 2004 the Focus RS showed what a good car it was on asphalt," said the 38-year-old. "This is a new car but I've driven it enough already to know that it is competitive on that surface. We will have tough competition in Spain but anything is possible. The next two rallies are very important. Because I made a mistake in Mexico and scored only one point, I really need to win one of the next two rallies to maintain a strong championship position."

Gronholm failed to finish last year in Spain and while he isn't a big fan of asphalt events, he has had strong results in Catalunya before, finishing second in 2004 and sixth in 2003, when he was with Peugeot.

For Mikko Hirvonen meanwhile Spain will always be a special place, as he took his first ever WRC podium result on the event last season, using a privately entered Focus. It was a remarkable result and one that helped pave his way back into a works team after being dropped by Subaru at the end of 2004.

"That result [in Spain last year] was a big boost to my confidence," he admitted. "I've proved that I have the speed on loose surfaces but to score a podium here made me realise that I could reproduce the same level of speed on asphalt. I've tested the Focus RS on this surface and it's good."

555 Subaru World Rally Team:

[Petter Solberg, car #5 and Stephane Sarrazin, car #6.]

Subaru team leader Petter Solberg is targeting a podium finish on the Rally Catalunya. Although the Norwegian has had a tough start to the year, he finally opened his account in Mexico earlier this month, when he finished second to score 8 points. Furthermore following a three-day asphalt test in Northern Italy with the Impreza WRC2006, he is feeling positive about the car.

"I'm very much looking forward to this rally," he said. "I'll be looking for a podium first of all - ideally with Marcus and Sebastien behind me - that would be perfect! It will be difficult though as these two will be the main guys. Our result was very good in Mexico and we had a positive test in Italy two weeks ago. I had a good feeling with the car and we made some improvements - how much we will see in Spain."

The Impreza that will be used by both Solberg and his team-mates, Stephane Sarrazin and Chris Atkinson, has been heavily modified in preparation for this event.

"Since Germany last year we've been working extremely hard on developing a much more specialised car [for tarmac]," said Subaru's director of engineering, Steve Farrell. "Most of the differences concern the brakes and the tyres, however we've also introduced a suspension package with completely new uprights and geometry. Clearly the regulation changes mean we're also having to evaluate the performance of mechanical differentials. We looked at the car's set-up in a four day asphalt test in Italy two weeks ago in addition to an intensive tyre testing programme. It was very productive - Pirelli has done a fantastic job and come up with some tyres that look very promising, so we're optimistic about the rally. We feel we've got a good all-round package."

Manufacturer 2.

OMV Peugeot Norway WRT:

[Manfred Stohl, car #7].

Manfred Stohl will be the only car entered by the OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally team on this event, as while he is doing all 16 events, the team can only score points on 12 events, as dictated by the FIA under the Manufacturer 2 regulations.

Stohl however, has had a difficult build-up after crashing during practice for the event on Monday. Although the Austrian and his co-driver, Ilka Minor spent most of Monday afternoon and evening in hospital, after several tests the doctors have given them the OK to compete. X-rays revealed that no bones had been broken and apart from several bruises they are both in relatively good shape.

"We do hurt all over - but we definitely want to compete in the rally," confirmed Stohl, who finished on the podium in Mexico earlier this month.

The OMV Peugeot Bozian mechanics are now putting in over-time, after the 307 WRC was heavily damaged during the crash. The aim is to get a replacement car up and running ahead of the event, which begins on Friday.

"Yes, the car did take quite some damage but we are confident to get the Peugeot up and running in time for the rally," confirmed team manager, Jacky Bozian.

Stobart VK Ford:

[Matthew Wilson, car #9 and Jari-Matti Latvala, car #10]

Matthew Wilson is bracing himself for a difficult event in Spain this weekend. The 19-year-old reckons it will be far tougher than in Mexico.

"I'm looking forward to Spain, but it's going to be a lot more difficult than it was last time in Mexico," he confirmed, "There could be rain, and that's going to make tyre choice crucial. There's also some very good tarmac specialists in the event, so I can't expect to be up the front like I was last time. I'm just going to be sensible and settle down to it and build the experience. It could help me that it's only the second time that the WRC has been held on these stages, as there's less opportunity for the other guys to have built experience there, so it might make a more level field."

Wilson will be joined by Jari-Matti Latvala, the Finn taking part in his first event for Stobart and his first tarmac event in a WRC car since 2003. Despite the lack of recent experience, however, Latvala admits that there could be worse events to return on.

"The stages in Spain are just right - not too fast and not too slow," he explained, "The only difficult thing is making sure you use the same lines as the top guys as they cut the corners and gravel gets on the road. As long as you're on the same line that they use, it's not a problem. It's when you try and use another line that there are problems."

Stobart Motorsport also kick-starts its JWRC campaign in Spain, with Barry Clark and co-driver Scott Martin wheeling the VK-backed Ford Fiesta, which is also entered in the all-new Fiesta Sporting Trophy International.

Red Bull Skoda:

[Gilles Panizzi, car #11 and Andreas Aigner, car #12]

The Red Bull Skoda team want to get both cars to the finish in Spain.

Speaking in the build-up, team boss, Armin Schwarz added that if they can get the Fabia WRC's of Gilles Panizzi and Andreas Aigner to the end, then he is sure they will be able to score points and add to their current three point tally, which sees them six points behind Ford's 'B' team, the Stobart VK squad.

"We need to get both cars to the finish, just like in Monte Carlo," confirmed Schwarz. "If we are mindful of this intention, everything else will follow by itself."

Panizzi meanwhile, who only finished tenth in Monte Carlo, after struggling with handling problems and then hitting a rock in SS15, which cost him several minutes, is eager to get the 'best possible' result.

"I am 100 percent motivated, and I will give it my all, just like earlier this year during the first leg of the Monte Carlo Rally," said the Frenchman, who has won this rally twice before in 2002 and in 2003 and who will have to use a passive differential in Spain to meet the regulations. "Of course Sebastian Loeb is the measure of all things in Spain. I will try nonetheless to set fast times with a good setup and achieve for Skoda the best result possible with the help of the engineers and the entire team."

Junior WRC:

In the Junior WRC 14 drivers have opted to contest this event. However, reigning Junior World Rally champion Daniel Sordo, who was scheduled to drive a Citroen C2 S1600 will now not do so. Instead the Spaniard will compete in a Kronos Racing ran Citroen Xsara WRC.

"Dani was initially supposed to have defended his crown," explained Citroen Junior WRC boss, Yves Matton. "However, given his good results so far with the Xsara WRC, his backers and partners wanted to see him drive a World Rally Car in Catalunya and Corsica. Citroen Sport readily agreed to this and the necessary authorisation was obtained from the FIA."

As such Kris Meeke will now be partnered by Brice Tirabassi, who returns to the series after winning the Junior title in 2003. Tirabassi, who will be busy testing prior to the event, doesn't expect to win straight off though. Indeed not only has he never tackled the Rally Catalunya since its switch to the south, but he also knows that it may take time to adjust to the C2.

Meeke and Tirabassi won't be the only drivers at the wheel of a Citroen C2 though. In addition, Julien Pressac will use one run by PH Sport, while Martin Prokop and Aaron Burkart will also use Citroen's junior car, the former entered by Jipocar Racing, while the latter's programme is looked after by PRT.

Meeke though will undoubtedly be one of the favourites to win, if not the favourite. He will also no doubt figure prominently in the battle for the title, like in 2005, along with Per-Gunnar Andersson, who won round one, and Guy Wilks. Neither Suzuki driver will take part on this event though, as it is one of their 'dropped' events.

"I made a few small but costly mistakes in 2005 and I mustn't repeat them in 2006," vowed Meeke prior to this weekend's event. "My objective is to be more consistent and reliable and win the championship for Citroen. I am delighted that the team has placed their confidence in me again. It's a fresh chance and it will be up to me to show what I can do, without any pressure, with a view to keeping the Junior title in the Citroen camp."

Other significant entries:

Around 70 crews have entered the Rally Catalunya. Amongst the other significant runners Kronos Racing will again enter an additional car for Junior World Rally champion Daniel Sordo (Citroen Xsara WRC), while other entrants at the wheel of a WRC car include: Gareth MacHale (Ford Focus RS WRC 05), Francois Duval (First Skoda Fabia WRC), Alex Bengue (Peugeot 307 WRC), Jan Kopecky (Czech RT Skoda Fabia WRC), Stepan Vojtech (Peugeot 206 WRC) and Steve Perez (Ford Focus WRC 05). In total 22 World Rally Cars are due to start.

Daniel Sola meanwhile was due to take part using a Citroen Xsara WRC, but he had to pull out after failing to raise the required budget. Toni Gardemeister will also not compete, despite originally having intended to do, he will just do the recce.

Schedule:

The route shows few changes to last October's edition as organisers have opted for continuity.

All the stages are located in the Priorat wine growing area in the Tarragona region, with a single service area at Salou's PortAventura theme park.

There are just two tests that did not feature in 2005. One is totally new while the other is an existing test used in the opposite direction. Three other tests incorporate minor changes.

After Thursday evening's ceremonial start on Salou seafront, Friday's opening leg is the longest of the rally, including 137.25km of competition. Seven different venues are used for the 16 stages, covering 346.43km, and seven tests are used twice before the Sunday afternoon finish in Salou.

Hot tip:

Sebastien Loeb is the favourite. He has been on form all year and the Citroen Xsara WRC is always good on asphalt. Kronos have also shown they can do the business, after providing the Frenchman with a winning car in Mexico.

Last year:

Sebastien Loeb won the event last year taking the victory by over 1 minute. Francois Duval finished second, to give Citroen a 1-2, while Mikko Hirvonen completed the podium, fractionally ahead of Xavier Pons, who was fourth. Roman Kresta completed the top five. There were a number of 'works' retirements - including Petter Solberg, Marcus Gronholm, Stephane Sarrazin and Gigi Galli.