Peugeot Rally Academy driver Craig Breen is set to stir up some happy memories this week when he introduces his Peugeot 208T16 to the famous El Molar hairpin of WRC Rally de Espana.
This is the event where Breen clinched the SWRC title back in 2012. Taking place this year from Thursday October 22nd to Sunday October 25th the Spanish round has featured on the World Rally Championship calendar for twenty five years in a row now. After eleven years as a completely asphalt rally it relocated to the holiday resort of Salou and is now a mixed surface event around the Tarragona region.
For the 2015 WRC is nothing to fear as not only has he been a winner here before but it was on a very similar mixed surface rally in Greece last year that saw Craig and the 208T16 take their maiden ERC wins. A shakedown stage on Thursday morning will be the last chance for Craig and his co-driver Scott Martin to gauge themselves against their competition before the lunch time start ramp in Salou.
From there the cars head to Barcelona where a short city asphalt stage opens proceedings in front of a typically huge crowd amidst a carnival atmosphere. On Friday things get serious, six pure gravel stages and two more with asphalt sections totaling 128.6km for the day and all without any service halt. Saturday will be like starting a new rally for everyone when the cars take to the mostly flat roads where driving style too will have to be adapted to suit the newly set-up cars. Sunday morning for the third and final leg is made up of six asphalt stages before the beachfront podium early in the afternoon.
As his season draws to a close Craig will be out to prove he is the fastest man over both surfaces this weekend and he will have plenty of competition from rivals old and new in the WRC 2 class to challenge him. He goes there with very recent experience of both surfaces and despite the very stiff competition has a every chance of standing on the top step of the podium on Sunday afternoon.