Millennium Stadium

Cardiff Special Stage, Wales Rally GB, Cardiff, Wales

Anyone who loves motor sports has a special place in their heart for the World Rally Championship, and Wales Rally GB tickets are among the most exciting around. Now, for the first time, Page & Moy is offering trips to the Cardiff Special Stage of this unmissable event.

One of only two stages on the circuit to take place indoors (Japan is the other), the Cardiff race takes place under the closable roof of the incredible 74,000-capacity Millennium Stadium, usually the location for major concerts and international football and rugby matches.

The 0.68-mile track will be even faster this year following a revamp of the course. Although it is a little bit shorter overall, the track now has longer straights and faster corners, making for higher maximum speeds and better power slides around corners.

After a stunning entertainment show with a ‘fire and ice’ theme, the action begins. The cars start their engines in the underground car park, and fly onto the stadium floor via a ramp with their wheels off the ground. Up to 100 cars are expected to take part in the stage this year, roaring around a figure-of-eight circuit. And because the stadium is so modern, you can be sure the view will be perfect wherever you sit.

For the last two years the Wales Rally GB has been won by Finnish duos - Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen in 2007 and Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen the year before, both teams driving a Ford Focus. But for the four years before that, Petter Solberg and Phil Mills dominated in a Subaru Impreza.

The Wales event is the last leg of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championships, and as such promises to be a glittering finale. Once known as the RAC Rally, the race used to roam around the country and included stages all over the UK, but nowadays the whole circuit is in Wales.

The weather is a big factor in the outdoor parts of the rally, with the possibility of rain, wind, mud, fog, snow and ice adding an unpredictable edge. The gravel forest stages of south Wales can become wet and very slippery, making for some exciting driving there.

Away from the driving, Cardiff is a lively city offering plenty to explore, as you’ll discover on your Page & Moy escorted tour.

Cardiff has only been a city for 100 years, but there has been a castle here for 2,000. Take a tour or just stroll around the pretty gardens. Another option is the fairy tale Castell Coch, just up the A470.

A lot of money has been spent on sprucing up Cardiff Bay, which is now the site of numerous sculptures and water features. Around here you’ll find the Senedd, home of the National Assembly for Wales, and Techniquest, a fun science and technology museum. There are more than 160 hands-on exhibits, puzzles and activities to entertain the whole family, plus shows in the Science Theatre and Planetarium.