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2018 WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP BLASTS OFF IN BIRMINGHAM

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World Rally Championship stars will be present on Thursday at the Autosport Show to launch the 2018 WRC Season

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Visitors to this week’s Autosport International Show will be treated to a sneak preview of the 2018 Dayinsure Wales Rally GB, the UK’s round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Sébastien Ogier – the virtuoso Frenchman who clinched a fifth World Championship three months ago in Wales – will be officially opening Europe’s premier motor sport show on Thursday morning. The WRC rivals will then take to the main stage as the four top teams representing Citroën, Hyundai, M-Sport/Ford and Toyota reveal their new 2018 cars.

With a full house of World Rally Championship crews present – including home heroes Elfyn Evans and Kris Meeke, both now WRC winners – it promises to be a remarkable occasion that no rally fan will want to miss.

What’s more, several of the leading WRC2 runners will also be present. This includes Volkswagen Motorsport with its latest Polo GTI R5 for the first time at a major motor show. The brand-new Proton Iriz R5 will also be on display.

The Official WRC Launch

“The official World Rally Championship launch at Autosport International will really whet the appetite for 2018,” enthused Dayinsure Wales Rally GB Managing Director, Ben Taylor. “This new generation of amazing World Rally Championship cars delivered some epic action in 2017 and expectations ahead of this season are sky high – not least as we have two winning British drivers to the fore.

“To have all the stars and their new cars at the NEC is a real bonus for rally fans. These spectacular machines will be roaring through the Welsh forests on Dayinsure Wales Rally GB at the start of October.”

Following the 2018 cars launch, the spotlight will switch to the Dayinsure Wales Rally GB. Their stand  will have the new 2018 WRC and WRC2 cars on public display. Highlighting the very best of UK rallying, they will also feature a selection of high profile cars from the BRC. Their presence is pertinent as this year the series will reach its conclusion in Wales on the WRC event.

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