One travel information website states Rally Germany and Rally Finland's host towns, Trier and Jyvaskyla, are 1,947km apart. It also estimates it would take 27 hours and 37 minutes of non-stop driving to get from one town to the other - six hours more than it takes to fly from London to Sydney. Yet with only a total of 42 hours between the finish of Rally Germany and the start of the Rally Finland recce, the Subaru World Rally Team doesn't have the luxury of taking its time.

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Subaru World Rally Team chief truckie, Dave Rudlin, admits planning for the 'back-to-back' events in the west of Germany and central Finland has been the biggest logistical challenge of the year so far. "The distances are huge," he says, "and we've had to look carefully about how we can get the equipment there in time." Which means, he confesses, some equipment for Finland will leave the Bostalsee service area before Rally Germany even starts. Sounds counter-productive - after all, how could you compete in a rally without equipment? - but Rudlin is quick to clarify: "If the recce cars were to leave after the end of the rally on Sunday, they would not arrive in Finland in time for the start of the reconnaissance. In this case, we've planned for three recce cars to leave Trier on a transporter on Friday after the recce. The cars are due to arrive in Jyvaskyla on Sunday morning so a technician will have approximately 48 hours to work on the cars before the recce starts at 0700hrs on Tuesday."

Rudlin adds the rest of the equipment is also due to leave Trier before the cars arrive at the finish on Sunday. "Germany's the only event on the calendar where there's no midday or end of Leg service on the last day. Instead of returning to the service park after the last stage, the drivers go straight to parc ferme. As a result we can pack up and take everything down after the first ten minute service of the day, which is scheduled for 0830hrs." At 1300hrs sharp - before the official podium ceremony and finish of the rally - the trucks will leave Bostalsee and drive to Rostock in the north of Germany for a ferry crossing to Finland. "We'll pick the rally cars up from parc ferme on the way," Rudlin adds reassuringly.

The distinctive metallic blue and yellow Subaru trucks normally attract attention on the roads, but in Germany they're likely to draw even more as Bundesland regulations stipulate no heavy vehicles may drive on a Sunday - a big problem if you've only got just over 40 hours to get to Finland, including Sunday. "It's a rule that is effective across the whole of Germany," says Rudlin, "but the organisers have liaised with the local governments in the regions on the way to Rostock to get exceptional permission for the trucks to drive on their roads. Each truck will have a special permit, but I imagine there will be several confused policemen on the way…"

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It's a 10 hour drive up to Rostock, which throws up another issue. European working directives state that a truck driver may only work a maximum of 10 in every 15 hours, broken down into two four and a half hour stints with a 45 minute break between. Rudlin's accommodated for this in his plan: he has arranged for the trucks to be 'double-manned' up to the port, a sort of driving relay race between the truckies - when one driver has to pull over and take a break, the other will take the wheel.

Twenty-four hours after loading onto the ferry, the trucks will disembark in the Finnish port of Hanko and head north to Jyvaskyla, a five hour drive. Rudlin estimates the trucks will get to the service park in Jyvaskyla by 0700hrs Tuesday morning if all goes to plan.

Ken Rees, Subaru's event co-ordinator, is responsible for getting the team personnel to Finland on time to meet the trucks on Tuesday. It's simpler than you might think, thanks to a handy flight connection between Frankfurt-Hahn airport two hours drive east of Trier and Tampere, 150km south of Jyvaskyla. "We're flying on a regular scheduled airline on the Monday after the German rally," Rees says. "It's the most economical and practical way of doing it."

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Sorting out the flights was the easy part. Rees explains that "fewer personnel are needed for Finland as the team will run two rather than three cars. In total we've got 55 people in Germany, 22 vehicles and nine trucks, including the transporters. In Finland, we'll only have 40 people and won't need any vehicles as the hotel and the service park are walking distance apart." How to 'lose' 22 cars and 15 members of staff? "We've arranged for the vehicles used in Germany to be driven back on the ferry by the third car crew. Chris Atkinson's Impreza that we use in Germany will be taken back on a van and trailer."

The reduced Subaru team will be anxiously waiting for the trucks on Tuesday morning. With an estimated 30 hours between the cars unloading on Tuesday and scrutineering and sealing on Wednesday, the team face a long night. Number one technician Simon Baker will be one of those itching to get his hands on the cars. "The same engine and chassis must be used in Germany and Finland, but all four corners of the car and the suspension need changing completely as the cars will have already done one rally. However with Germany being asphalt and Finland gravel, there are a number of specific changes we'll make," Baker explains. "One of the main jobs is changing the differentials as we use different pre-loads and settings on the two events. The pre-load will almost double from asphalt to gravel. The dampers are also around 45mm shorter on a tarmac car than on gravel so they need to be changed."

Brakes too are changed. For asphalt, the team use AP Racing 366mm ventilated discs with six-pot calipers on the front, whereas 305mm ventilated discs and four-pot calipers front and rear will be used on gravel. Technicians will also remove the Impreza's water spray system that directs a jet of fluid at each caliper when it reaches a pre-determined temperature. This isn't used on the gravel-spec car as grip on the road is lower, meaning the brakes don't reach as high a temperature.

A new clutch and gearbox will also go in. Baker adds, "in the engine too there's a lot of work, including changing the spark plugs, air filter, alternator, anti-lag switch valve and boost pack. We'll also check the radiator to make sure it's not blocked, inspect the condition of the cam belt and the engine mounts."

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There's also another change Baker and his crew must take into account. In Germany the Impreza WRC2006 will be driven by Stéphane Sarrazin, but in Finland by Chris Atkinson. Each driver has a seat moulded to their size and seating preference. Baker explains, "Stéphane sits lower in the car than Chris and has the steering wheel and pedal box further away. We'll also change the seat mouldings and the steering set-up, including the height of the gear lever and steering column."

Getting the work done will require careful allocation of resources. "If Germany goes well the changes should be relatively straightforward and we should have enough time if we work to a detailed plan," Baker says. "But if there's bodywork damage it could be tight and we may need some extra personnel to help get the car ready in time."

If things go really wrong in Germany, however, there's a back-up plan ready to swing into action. Rudlin explains, "There's always a possibility that a car could be badly damaged on the German stages and we won't be able to safely repair it in the time we have." His plan B? "While Rally Germany is going on, the technicians back in the factory will be working on another Impreza WRC2006. Whatever is happening in the German rally, even if it's going well, this car will be driven on a trailer on Sunday 13 August to Immingham in the north east of England for a sailing to Gothenburg, Sweden. The boat arrives in Sweden on Monday morning, when we'll know if we need it for the Finnish Rally. If we do, the trailer will go to Finland. If not, it will head back on the first available crossing to England." With travel very expensive, this seems like an elaborate fall-back, but Rudlin states this is all part of the planning. "We have to make this kind of preparation, even if it is a worst-case scenario. You've got to make sure you've got every angle covered."