The World Rally Championship travels to Wales this weekend for the final round in the 2010 season. It's now or never for many of the drivers and we caught up with them to discuss their hopes and fears...
Sébastien Loeb, Citroen World Rally Team, Citroen C4 WRC
The Frenchman, unstoppable once again this season, has already sown up the WRC title but is determined to end a record-breaking year with yet another victory.
“Whenever we start a rally, we do so with the intention of winning,” says the seven-time world champion.
“If I feel good and the conditions are favourable, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be gunning for a third win on the bounce in Wales.”
Sébastien Ogier, Citroen World Rally Team, Citroen C4 WRC
The runner-up spot is still up for grabs, with Ogier, driving for the Citroen Total World Rally Team for the third time, currently in the box seat.
“We didn’t think we’d be fighting for second place this season,” admits Ogier. “It’s become our objective as the season’s unfolded. We lost a few points in France and Spain, but we’re still in front and a place on the podium will be enough no matter where our two rivals finish.
"I don’t feel like holding back and racing the whole weekend just to score the fifteen points that go with third place. To achieve my aim I want to fight for the best possible result."
Dani Sordo, Citroen World Rally Team, Citroen C4 WRC
The driver placed fifth in the championship, Sordo has secured two podiums in each of his last two visits to Great Britain...
"The weather conditions will play a big part,” he said. “If the roads stay dry, this is going to be an extremely fast rally. If it rains though, the stages will rapidly turn into mud and it will become the most slippery event of the year.
"We need to get off to a good start, as I’m sure that the pace will be quick from the very beginning. Everyone wants to win the last rally of the year.”
Kimi Räikkönen, Citroen C4 WRC
With 21 points from the 10 rallies he has participated in this season, Räikkönen is 10th in the championship after what he admits has been a year of adjustment.
"We knew that our first learning year would be a bit like this,” pointed out Kimi. “Like any driver starting off in a completely new discipline that is as specialised as rallying, I’ve had my ups and downs. I imagine that Wales will be no different.
"We’re going to work hard during the recce. We need to make sure that we set off at a decent pace and then gradually reduce the gap to the frontrunners as the rally goes on."
Patrik Sandell, Red Bull Rally Team, Skoda Fabia S2000
Swedish driver Sandell is aiming to add the Super 2000 World Rally Championship title to the Junior World Championship title that he won in 2006 when he contests Rally Wales this weekend...
"I'm just going to go into this with the aim of enjoying myself and getting the best result possible for myself and Red Bull," said Sandell. "I don't really feel any pressure because a lot of what happens in the championship depends on other people, so it's out of my control to some extent now.
"All I can do is concentrate on doing the best job I can; then we will see what happens afterwards. Every rally is a sprint event these days and we cannot afford to give away time. So we'll be aiming to set a good pace from the beginning and hopefully that will be enough to deliver us the result that we need."
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