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HOME / MOTORSPORTS / P-WRC 2007 / Round 8 News Index
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Event summary
Date
30 Nov, - 2 Dec, 2007
Venue
Swansea,
Great Britain
Weather
LEG1 : Rain
LEG2 : Cloudy / Rain
LEG3 : Rain
Surface
Gravel / Wet
Total distance
1271.94km
Total competitive distance
359.54km (SS1〜SS17)
>> Report  >> Result  >> What's P-WRC
The final round of the 2007 Production Car World Rally Championship (P-WRC) was the Wales Rally GB. The classic event concluded the eight round P-WRC series in which points from only six rounds were counted for each competitor. As Fumio Nutahara had already completed six rounds prior to this round, he was absent in this season's closer and Leszek Kuzaj's Subaru Impreza was the sole ADVAN equipped car.
 
With the ceremonial start at Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, on Thursday, 29th November, the rally with 108 cars (including many WR cars) commenced. Leg 1 started on Friday when the full scale competition began, traveling around the service park at Swansea, which is the second largest city of the region.
 
Kuzaj had registered the second fastest time in the shakedown session which was open for spectators before the start of the rally. ADVAN rally tires (equipped with softer compound for lower temperatures) seemed to suit the British weather in the winter season and expectations for Kuzaj's good performance in the event were raised higher.
 
The SS1 Port Talbot (17.41km) was hampered by a dense fog which severely restricted the vision of the drivers. And in the next test, SS2 Resolfen, it started to rain heavily and the conditions became even tougher.
 
Kuzaj struggled to keep up with the pace of the leaders and had to endure a tough time. Despite a few minor problems, he completed all six of the special stages of the day and finished Leg 1 in thirteenth in the P-WRC class.
 
On Saturday, 1st December, there were seven stages on Leg 2. The sky wasn't clear yet and the rain became heavier when the competitors were beginning to start the first SS of the day. It was quite cold and the temperature was just around 5℃.
 
Competitors ran through the six stages, running each of three stages twice, before tackling the final very short stage (1.10km) of Leg 2. Kuzaj had been driving steadily in the second day of the rally, but an unexpected trouble hit him in the penultimate stage of the day (SS12). His Subaru caught fire due to an engine problem and although it was extinguished quickly, the engine wouldn't start again because the electrical wire harness was badly burnt.
 
The car was brought back to the service park. However, the team gave up restarting on the next day, as the damage made by fire was beyond overnight repair. As a result, Kuzaj had to retire from the final round of the season, which was a shame for him.
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