The 68th Wales Rally GB (September 13-16) is the 6th round of the FIA SWRC – the championship dedicated for S2000 cars. Among the solid pack of fast drivers, there is a Polish crew, Maciek Oleksowicz/Andrzej Obrebowski (Ford Fiesta S2000) at the start line of the event.
Monday was a day of testing for Castrol TRW MOTOINTEGRATOR team. Their aim was to familiarize with Welsh gravel stages, to set up the car as well as to check the tires.
Maciek Oleksowicz:
- On Monday – as expected – there were heavy showers throughout the whole day. At the beginning we could not find a grip at all. We changed the springs and afterwards although sliding all the time, we were able to find a good pace. I believe soft compound tires should behave well in those conditions. Hard compound tires are a big mystery. We do not know what will happen when it is dry. Local drivers claim the grip will be fine then. We have tested the combination followed by WRC drivers – having both soft and hard tires at the same time diagonally. It is some kind of a compromise in a treacherous situation. I think it is a good idea. The car is quite stable at breaking points then, but one has to be cautious at slippery parts. Nonetheless, you can get used to it. Besides springs, we tested various setups of diffs, stabilizers and I believe the car is prepared really well. At the moment we are 3rd in SWRC classification. Wanting to maintain the position we must push from start do finish. I think the first day of competition will be most crucial for final results.
There are all top SWRC drivers at the entry list for 68th Wales Rally GB:
1. Per-Gunnar Andersson (SWE) 68
2. Hayden Paddon (NZL) 62
3. Maciej Oleksowicz (POL) 53
4. Craig Breen (IRL) 43
5. Yazeed Al Rahji (SAU) 40
6.
6. Pedro Meireles (POR) 15
8. Juha Salo (FIN) 15
9. Esapekka Lappi (FIN) 10
10. Alister McRae (SCO) 6
