An unprecedented number of crews have signed up to do the Rally Russia, the fourth round in the 2008 Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
Indeed while some slight changes in the final entry list are still possible, it already includes 83 crews - 27 of which will be fighting for victory in the general classification of the IRC.
The rally has led to a lot of serious interest in both Russia and Europe, with organisers being forced to extend the entry list. Not just that, but the overall route of the rally has been extended for this year as well, with 70 kilometres of extra stages compared to 2007. The start list has now been fixed at 83 crews from 10 countries.
Amongst those coming to Vyborg and St. Petersburg are former World Rally champion Didier Auriol, and former European champions Giandomenico Basso and Simon Jean-Joseph.
The winner of last year's Rally Russia, Anton Alen, will try to defend his title, but he will be faced with increasingly strong opposition.
The visitors will be challenged by the best Russian rally drivers – such as Evgeniy Novikov, Evgeniy Vertunov, Alexander Zheludov and Andrey Zhigunov.
As well as being the fifth round of the IRC, the event also counts for the Open Russian Championship.
In contrast to the previous year, most of the European crews already know what to expect from Rally Russia. But they will be hard-pushed to beat the locals – as was demonstrated by Evgeniy Novikov's giant-killing performance of last year.
So the fight promises to be a tough one and it's almost impossible to predict a winner. The start takes place on St. Isaac's square in St Petersburg on July 10 from 5pm [local time].
![Evgeniy Vertunov (RUS) / Georgy Troshkin (RUS), Subaru Impreza [Production WRC]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/400712.jpg)
