Jesus prays for Catalunya clearance

The Spanish champion is the subject of a Stewards' meeting this afternoon, after widespread accusations that he conducted illegal reconnaissance for the event. Puras has admitted being found on a 'new' stage with pre-prepared pacenotes, but he insists that they were produced by reversing notes made when the road was run in the opposite direction.

FIA officials conducted spot checks during the recce in an attempt to crack down on illegal practising.

Puras said: "I would never make the mistake of practising illegally for a rally. What we did in practice was to use and modify old notes from previous years. We presented these notes to FIA officials throughout. I've nothing to hide and I have done nothing wrong. It's a pity that this has happened on the debut of the Xsara WRC but it's not my fault."

He added: "The advantage of using old notes is that we can modify them on both runs over the stages, not spend one run making them and then only have one to modify them. We showed the officials the pacenote book, with the old notes, at the start of the stage and they stamped it. When they checked later on, it was the same book with the same stamp. We did not change notebooks during the stage."

Puras has the full backing of Citroen Sport team chief Guy Frequelin, who said: "There has been a deliberate attempt to destabilise Jesus here. I don't see how there can be a penalty because to do that, you'd have to have proof that an illegal recce had taken place and that is not the case. It's flattering to us in a way, because it shows people are scared of us. But at the same time, I find it irritating."

Puras is not alone: a number of other, lower-profile drivers are also under investigation this afternoon. Autosport.com will keep you up-to-date with the latest news as it happens.