Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Total WRT lines up at the start of Wales Rally GB with four cars. For their home round — or as near as they come to one on the WRC calendar — Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle and Craig Breen/Scott Martin are guaranteed to enjoy huge support from the British fans. This will also be the last race of the season for Abu Dhabi rally team.
Alongside co-driver Gilles de Turckheim, Stephane Lefebvre makes his competitive return in a WRC, whilst Quentin Gilbert and Renaud Jamoul make their debut in the sport’s top category after spending the season competing in the WRC-2.
Wales Rally GB is one of the unmissable events on the WRC calendar. This year’s rally, which runs from October 27-30, won’t be the final round of the World Championship, but it is here that the season concludes for the Abu Dhabi Total WRT. Created to manage the transitional period before the return of Citroën as a works team in 2017, the team has taken part in eight European rounds of the WRC, from Monte-Carlo to Wales.
With two wins, obtained by Meeke and Nagle in Portugal and Finland, it has been an incredibly successful year from a sporting point of view, regardless of what happens in Wales.
As a final flourish, Abu Dhabi Total WRT is set to contest the British round with a four-car line-up. This will be a special race — a symbolic and emotional event — for all four crews, but above all it will be the final opportunity for them to showcase their skills on one of the most challenging outings of the season.
In what will be his ninth appearance at the rally, Meeke heads for Wales as the team’s most experienced driver. Last year, he finished runner-up here after a solid performance, during which he avoided the many pitfalls of the course.
On the same day, Breen finished his fifth Wales Rally GB on the podium in the WRC-2. Having moved up a class with the Abu Dhabi Total WRT this season, the Irishman will be keen to confirm his growing confidence on a rally where he has always done well in the past.
As has been the case in recent years, the service park will be based in Deeside. Following the Clocaenog shakedown and the ceremonial start, held on Thursday evening at the Eirias Park in Colwyn Bay, the competitors will have their hands full on the opening two days, both contested without a mid-leg service.
