World Rally Championship starts in Monte Carlo on the upcoming weekend. 15 special stages, over 380 kilometres of tracks of one of the most difficult rallies in the world held on asphalt and ice are waiting for the participants.
The Russian pilot Evgeny Novikov will skip this rally season as he had previously stated in the end of 2013 season. But every rally enthusiast can choose a pilot to support as luckily there are a lot of teams worth admiring.
Meanwhile the fate of Great Britain Rally was determined in a positive way.
In the end of 2012 the British round of the World Championship was moved to Wales. But its future depended upon the success of the race held in 2013. Edwina Hart, Welsh Government Minister for Economy, stated that the interim results of the GB’s round were satisfactory enough for the government to sign off budget for two more years.
«Wales Rally GB is one of our flagship events which attracts a lot of tourists to Wales. I’m very pleased that it was decided to budget these competitions for the next two years,» Edwina said.
Hart also noted that the decision to move the race from Cardiff to Deeside situated in the north of Wales was one of the major keys to success.
«We are absolutely delighted for the ongoing commitment from the Government”, Rally GB chief executive Andrew Coe said. »We have plenty of ideas on how to improve the race. What's more, we now also have a WRC Welsh driver Elfyn Evans and that's another major boost for Wales Rally GB."
