The WRC is already gearing up for the new season and like in 2007 the Rallye Monte Carlo will feature two night stages.
Last year the championship included night stages for the first time in a number of years with the event at the Principality and the season ending Wales Rally GB both featuring 'proper' tests in the dark.
Feedback from a number of the drivers' has been positive, with
BP Ford's
Mikko Hirvonen and
Subaru's
Chris Atkinson both convinced they have a place in the championship.
"It is kind of a new thing in the WRC. I know in the old days they use to drive in the dark all the time and maybe it is not so good for spectators and for TV, but it makes things more interesting," said Mikko.
"Definitely a lot more things happen all of the time and it is a new challenge for today's drivers - it is quite nice."
"It adds to the spectacle - but it is all about what is good for the audiences and what the spectators want to see," Atkinson added. "I am not sure what the feedback was from them. For me though it is what rallying should be.
"Rallying should be a challenge, it should be a mix of things and that is just another challenge. I think it is pretty cool."
Stobart Ford's
Matthew Wilson meanwhile echoed those sentiments and so too did fellow Brit's Guy Wilks and Mark Higgins.
"It is a good spectacle. There is just something special about driving in the dark - it is just another added extreme in there," said Wilson Jr. "There are a lot of pros and cons for it. Obviously it is harder for TV to get good pictures in the dark. But from the point of view of the drivers' it spices it up a little bit.
"We saw the results of that on the final stage on the Friday night [of the Wales Rally GB in December]. The times were all over the place and it definitely shook the rally up."
"Personally I like night rallying," Wilks chipped in. "I think it adds a different dimension to rallying as well as a really good atmosphere.
