Wales Rally GB to 'showcase nation to the world'

Wales Rally GB will showcase the nation to the world, the deputy tourism minister has said.

Ken Skates was speaking at an event ahead of the race which starts in Llandudno, Conwy county, on 12 November and finishes in Deeside, Flintshire, on 15 November.

The final round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) will get £4.5m from the Welsh government over three years.

The race is thought to be worth £10m annually to the Welsh economy.

About 160 drivers and thousands of supporters are expected to take part with an estimated global TV audience of 60 million people.

Mr Skates was given the chance to ride in the navigator's seat alongside Welshman Elfyn Evans, M-Sport World Rally team driver.

Evans finished in a career-best second in the French round of the WRC in Corsica this month.

Mr Skates said: "It was incredible. At one point we took off."

Ben Taylor, managing director of International Motor Sports Ltd, organisers of Wales GB Rally, said the event had been "reinvigorated" since moving from Cardiff to north Wales in 2013, with fans coming from the north west of England and further afield.