THE organisers of the British leg of the World Rally Championships (WRC), which kicked off last weekend (16-19 September), chose Land Rover vehicles to fulfil critical roles in ensuring the successful and safe running of the event.
Rally-prepared Freelanders and Land Rover-based Bowler Wildcat off-road race cars will be used as safety cars, running the stages at near race speeds before and after the rally cars to ensure competitor and spectator safety, whilst Range Rovers with the latest on and off-road navigation technology will be used by senior FIA officials.
The Freelanders are equipped with 2.5 litre, 24 valve, V6 petrol engines boasting 177bhp and 240Nm of torque, as on the standard models, with only modified MacPherson suspension struts (front and rear) and safety features such as a welded safety roll-cage to distinguish them from showroom vehicles.
During a trial session at Land Rover's proving ground in Gaydon, Warwickshire, ex-Scottish rally champion, David Gillanders said: "These are the most capable Freelanders in the world. They can take everything thrown at them, and more, making them ideal zero cars."
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