The stage in Rheola returned to the event but was revised to make it faster and the rally concluded in Cardiff instead of Margam Country Park the previous year.

[4] Before the event, Sébastien Loeb led the Drivers' Championship with 84 points, ahead of Petter Solberg in second and Markko Märtin third.

[5] Citroën had so far been the most successful team over the course of the season with Ford claiming one victory with Märtin in México and Subaru had taken three wins apiece.

[5] With pressure from the South Wales Police who initiated a campaign against speeding, the rally was under threat from cancellation as several drivers had been observed exceeding the local speed limit in the 2002 event, and the world governing body of motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), announced it would investigate whether the roads were suitable for the large amount of rally traffic.

[9] At the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris on 24 March, the MSA presented a traffic management report that confirmed the roads the rally used were safer than the national average.