The south west Wales location of the rally crash

The Motor Sports Association and the Rally Safety Group are meeting in Birmingham for what is described as a comprehensive de-brief on all aspects of the event, with reports on the accident due within three months.

Rally organisers defended their safety precautions at the time and the 2002 rally is again to be based in Cardiff.

A teenage girl was the most seriously injured when she was hit by a car in the rally on 24 November.

Dwysen Davies, 13, underwent surgery at West Wales General Hospital, Carmarthen, for a broken leg.

She was among a group of spectators struck by a rally car driven by former world champion Carlos Sainz in the Brechfa Forest, the 11th stage of the event.

Sainz was shaken by the incident, and withdrawn from racing

Both police and rally officials launched an inquiry after Sainz's Ford Focus slid wide at a corner, eight miles into the muddy forest, after apparently striking a marshal's vehicle parked along the route.

Sainz, who was running in fourth place, was said to be distraught at the incident and Ford later withdrew its drivers.

Describing the scene, witnesses said the injured were watching from a dangerous vantage point.

Rally organisers have made the event all-ticket in recent years to reduce numbers and increase safety, although the use of isolated areas makes it difficult to stop people turning up without tickets.

Spectators are supposed to stand in designated viewing areas as the cars race by at around 100mph.

The rally, being staged for the 57th time last year, regularly draws up to 200,000 fans during the four days.

After the drama, the UK's Richard Burns won the World Rally Championship title, despite Finland's Marcus Gronholm - the 2000 champion - taking the Rally of Great Britain in his Peugeot 206.