After a ceremonial start in the centre of Ajaccio on Thursday evening, Friday's opening leg is identical to last year on roads south-east of the town and is the longest of the event. Saturday's action takes competitors north of Ajaccio and includes a revised route for the opening stage of each loop. The last day is based south of the town and includes a stage last used in 2004.
Drivers face 12 stages covering 355.16km in a route of 1044.24km. The event remains one of the most compact of the season with more than 34 per cent of the route being competitive.
Hot tip:
Sebastien Loeb is the pre-event favourite - however Marcus Gronholm could end up pushing him very close.
Last year:
Sebastien Loeb won the event in dominant style in 2005, winning all 12 stages and eventually beating
Toni Gardemeister, by nearly 2 minutes.
Petter Solberg completed the podium, with Stephane Sarrazin and Roman Kresta fourth and fifth respectively. There were a number of 'works' retirements - including Marcus Gronholm,
Chris Atkinson, Armin Schwarz, Gilles Panizzi and
Francois Duval.
