Cyprus. The small island beloved by tourists on perpetual hunts for sunshine and warm seas. Its location in the far east of the Mediterranean, only 500km from Cairo and 300km from Damascus, guarantees sun-kissed beaches and temperatures that rarely dip below 20 degrees Celsius all year-round. Holidaying on the island can be a real pleasure. Working, on the other hand, is a slightly different story.

"Ambient temperatures in the WRC service area during the Cyprus Rally can reach up to 35 degrees, inside the car up to 40 degrees," explains Subaru World Rally Team human performance trainer John Mills. "Working in these kind of conditions could mean all sorts of problems if a person is not well-prepared or knows the potential hazards."

One of the biggest dangers for WRC drivers is dehydration, where the concentration of water in the body falls below the normal level of 55 to 65% fluid. Most of the water will be lost through perspiration, the body's natural way of cooling itself. The amount of sweat produced depends upon the level of physical activity but typically when competing a driver will lose around 1.5 litres of sweat per hour.

Mills explains it is crucial to replace the lost fluid as just 2% dehydration, causes athletic performance to fall off by 10 to 20%. "Before the drivers leave service in the morning, we make sure that they have drunk at least a litre of water. In the car they drink from a three litre reservoir secured behind the seat until they return to service. We also strongly advise the drivers and co-drivers to drink the water the organisers hand out at the end of the stages," says Mills. "It's not unusual for the drivers to drink more than nine litres of fluid a day, more than three times the recommendation for an average person."

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It's not just water that goes into the drivers' packs, however, but isotonic drinks with added electrolytes. Sounds like an exercise from high school technology classes to the uninitiated, but the science behind the words is well-founded. "Isotonics can be absorbed very easily by the body but don't upset its balance," Mills explains. "They work more efficiently than water because they contain a small amount of carbohydrate and sodium. This carbohydrate content provides a small amount of extra energy but it's the sodium that's crucial. There's the same concentration of sodium you get in blood plasma, which helps replace the sodium lost through sweating. The electrolytes are simply minerals that the body needs, including salts and sugars. Drinking them means the crews rehydrate more quickly."

Dehydration is also one of the biggest hazards for the team's service park-based personnel and all staff are reminded to drink regularly. Other measures put in place for the team include a technician 'survival kit' consisting of peaked caps for added shade, permeable airtex clothing to allow perspiration to evaporate, sunscreen and, if temperatures reach extremes, a block of portable showers in the service park. Fortunately though, exposure to the sun is now kept to a minimum as the new Subaru World Rally Team service area structure provides complete cover with its thick canopy.

High tech clothing and hydration helps, but it's a person's own fitness that really makes a difference to overall performance. "The drivers and co-drivers in particular train hard for the extreme temperature," says Mills. "The fitter a driver is, the more able they are to cope with the heat as they will sweat less and lose fewer minerals from the body. This means they won't be as fatigued or lethargic in the rally and will have faster reaction times." To help the drivers prepare, Mills organises a training camp in a hot country before the Cyprus Rally, with an emphasis on concentrated bursts of aerobic sports such as running, cycling, tennis and swimming -anything that keeps the heart rate up.

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Training in the heat is crucial, but Petter Solberg's co-driver Phil Mills takes the training to another level when he's at home. "I train in a sauna," says the Welshman, "you have to perform in the heat so the best way of preparing is to get your body used to the temperatures. At home I take a spinning cycle machine into the sauna and do a 30 minute session in there." John Mills agrees Phil's approach is exemplary. "It's vital to be prepared. It gives a physiological advantage by increasing body efficiency, but also helps psychologically as they know they can deal with the heat."

With temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius inside the cockpit, the drivers need every advantage, whether physical or psychological, to stay focussed. Phil Mills explains the cockpit can be a furnace in Cyprus, "The outside temperature is particularly high, but inside it will be worse. What makes it even more uncomfortable is the lack of air flow through the cockpit. The Cyprus Rally has the lowest average speed of the championship at just 65kph so virtually no air enters the cooling system or cockpit. It can really affect your concentration and performance."

There are certain mechanical tweaks the team make to help the drivers. An extra fan and duct will be added in the cockpit to cool the temperature to a reasonable level, while the engine, transmission and radiator will be run at their absolute maximum cooling settings. Even with the added cooling, it's still difficult as the Cypriot stages are the toughest in the championship.

"The stages are littered with large loose rocks and boulders and deep ruts form in the sandy gravel, especially on the second passage," says Phil. "Plus there's so many turns and bends that you have double the amount of pace notes than on any other gravel rally. It seems like I'm talking all the time as there is just so much information to give. It's really hard - the Tuesday and Wednesday nights before the rally are the longest nights of the year for me."

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The rocky stages ('there's a rock on the inside of almost all the corners,' Phil adds) increase the chance of damage to the underside of the car, so special measures are taken to reinforce the crucial parts. Heavier, thicker sump guards are used for added protection; a Cyprus sump guard can be up to twice as thick as a smooth gravel event such as Finland. To get as much ground clearance as possible the ride height of the car is also the highest of the season, up to 50mm higher than the smooth events.

Despite the extreme difficulties, Phil Mills enjoys the event. "It's the equivalent of a rally marathon as the stages can last up to 30 minutes with the low speeds. The temperatures are high, there's dust in the car, the stages are tough and you have to be prepared to train hard. But I do enjoy Cyprus. If there's a challenge, you just have to rise to it."