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Wales Rally GB is go

Newly crowned FIA World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier topped the times in qualifying earlier today (14 November) as Rally Wales GB prepares to get underway with the opening three stages through the legendary Welsh forests this evening.

The Volkswagen Motorsport star was the first driver to turn a wheel in anger amid wet and slippery conditions and set a blistering benchmark time of 1:52.708s on the 3.11km qualifying run.

M-Sport's Thierry Neuville immediately highlighted the ultra-competitiveness of the WRC field by clocking a time just 0.070s off the ultimate pace. The Belgian is looking to secure second in the championship this weekend, needing to hold off the challenge from VW's Jari-Matti Latvala in what is Neuville's final event with the Qatar World Rally Team before his 2014 switch to Hyundai.

Latvala will fancy his chances, however, having won the previous two Wales Rally GBs. The Finn knows that a hat-trick of victories would see him leapfrog his rival, although he could only manage fourth in qualifying behind Russian Evgeny Novikov in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

The great British public braved the wind and hail to catch a first glimpse of the WRC stars and cars during qualifying, many in anticipation of seeing former F1 Grand Prix winner Robert Kubica's first ever competitive drive in a WRC machine. The Pole - driving for the Abu Dhabi Citroën Total World Rally Team this weekend ­- set the seventh fastest time after admitting he found the conditions ‘very tricky' during his maiden run.

Ogier earned first pick of his start position during the selection process for tonight's opening stages thanks to his leading pace in Llandegla, but threw a curveball by choosing to run second on the road. "Everyone expected me to go first," said champ Ogier with a wry grin. "Second on the road will at least give me the chance to see what happens up ahead."

As a result of Ogier's cautious decision it is his team-mate Latvala who will commence proceedings this evening.

Wales Rally GB now looks forward to its ceremonial start in Conwy Quay at 18:30 before the real business gets underway shortly after. The ‘Rally of Legends' is not for the feint hearted and will immediately test its competitors as the cars blast off into complete darkness through Snowdonia for the opening stages. The runs in Gwydyr, Penmachno and Clocaenog will set the scene for the rest of the weekend with many just hoping to get through the evening unscathed.

The revitalised Wales Rally GB is set to provide some spectacular action over the next four days (14-17 November) as the 2013 WRC season reaches its climax. In total the competitors face 22 classic special stages, all run against the clock, before the winner is crowned back in Llandudno on Sunday afternoon.

The event's move to north Wales not only features new Headquarters and Service Park in Deeside but also the inclusion of three exciting new RallyFest Stages at Sweet Lamb (Friday), Chirk Castle (Saturday) and Kinmel Park (Sunday).

Fittingly Ogier has laid down an early marker with his perfect performance during qualifying but it remains to be seen if the Frenchman can round off a sublime season in style by winning the much-coveted Wales Rally GB for the first time in his career.

Sébastien Ogier said: "It would be nice to finish the season with another win, but at the same time this is a rally where I have never been really successful, so it's a big challenge for me to try to achieve a good result. With the experience over the years I'm feeling more and more comfortable to anticipate the grip. I really love to drive the Polo on gravel, and it was the same this morning in qualifying. On the test the conditions were similar, but the car is good in the low grip conditions. Hopefully tonight in the dark it will not rain too much so the visibility will stay good, but I proved in Spain I can be fast in these conditions, so hopefully it will be the same today."

Thierry Neuville said: "Last season I showed that I had the speed, but maybe the consistency wasn't always there. This year I discovered a car that suits my driving style, and had a very motivated team around me, so we were getting quicker and quicker. If I could sign off with a victory it would be a great achievement for me, Nicolas and for the team. I'm looking to secure second place in the championship this weekend - for the last few rallies we've been looking to stay on the road and score as many points as possible. It's a long weekend, we can't go slowly from the beginning as I'm sure Jari-Matti will be on the pace so we have to calculate based on him and we'll be up there with the quickest this weekend."

Jari-Matti Latvala said: "There have been some exciting choices - it's not a very typical starting selection compared to what we have seen in the past. I have been first on the road in the past - even recently in Catalunya - maybe it's something I have to do!"

Robert Kubica said: "I think the biggest task for this week won't be learning the car, but the rally itself - it's very difficult for me to judge the grip level changes and read the road. I found it very tricky here and there is a lot of places where the grip suddenly changes. Another big challenge for me for this rally is that I have a new co-driver. We're here to gain experience and try to learn as many things as I can. The stages won't be any more difficult than the others because all of them have been new for me this year. At every rally I discover new things, and I hope to learn as much as I can here and if I can finish then I will know a lot more than I know now."