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It's just two weeks since crews tackled the muddy and slippery stages of Hokkaido on Rally Japan. For Round 6 of the eight-event championship, the teams are now headed to one of the hottest events on the calendar, the Cyprus Rally. In 2005, it was show of force for the SUBARU spec C IMPREZA, the cars taking the top five slots on the results board after a very difficult rally.

The Cyprus Rally features torturous conditions not entirely dissimilar to Turkey and Greece;. As if the demanding road conditions weren't enough, crews typically face temperatures of up 55 degrees in the cockpit, so the weather plays a major part in the drivers and co-drivers fitness and stamina levels - and thus their ability to maintain pace.

Last year's winner Brice Tirabassi isn't in the championship this year; so won't be here to defend his victory. Also absent on this event are the competitors who took up the next three places last year, Argentineans Sebastien Beltran, Marcos Ligato and Gabriele Pozzo. Poland's Leszek Kuzaj and the dominant force for much of Rally Japan, Finland's Jari Matti Latvala, will also be away for this event.

After his absence on Rally Japan, championship leader Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah will be fighting to maintain his points' spread to second-placed man and winner last time out, Fumio Nutahara. The gap between the pair leading the championship has been reduced to 14 points with three events to go. Nasser however, (34 points) has but two events left (dropping Rally Australia), whereas Nutahara will be contesting all three remaining rallies. Nasser really needs to win here to keep his Japanese rival sufficiently at bay. When they next meet, in New Zealand for the final race of the season, he'll want to still be ahead in the points for the psychological advantage.

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Back in a Group N car is the reigning PCWRC champion Toshi Arai, after contesting his home event in a SUBARU World Rally Team car in Hokkaido (and earning a credible sixth place as a result). After a torrid time of it here last year where he got caught out very early on, taking maximum SupeRally penalties, though regaining to seventh, Toshi will be looking to get as strong a result here as possible. He's presently on 15 points - 5th in the standings,

With a total of 30 points still up for grabs, the title chase could look very different indeed before we get to the final event in New Zealand.

Aki Tesikonen, after coming top among the SUBARU IMPREZA runners last time out on Rally Japan with fourth place, wasn't in Cyprus last year. He's another first-timer on this most testing of events. With 11 championship points to his credit and three events to go, you can be sure he'll be pushing hard for a result here.

Nigel Heath is back in action in his Zebra-liveried IMPREZA after missing Rally Japan; and Kahlid Al Qassimi takes over the Quasys team entry for this event.

George Donaldson - STI Group N Prioject General Manager:
"This is an interesting time of year for the challengers for the title. Still many of the crews can fight for the lead and a slip up from any of the drivers can ruin their entire year's efforts.

"Nasser Al Attiyah is the current leader but he is followed very closely in reality (counting dropped event potential scores) by Fumio Nutahara. I think we could see these guys taking the more cautious strategy on this event as neither will want to give anything away.

"Toshi and Aki will simply go for a top result and if their ability to stay clear of trouble is strong enough they should prove to be the pacesetters. For Toshi to have a chance to retain his crown he simply has no choice but to go for wins in the remaining rallies.

"Khalid Al Qassimi has taken up the Japanese Quasys team entry for this event and for the first time he will compete within PCWRC. Khalid is very quick and conditions here should suit him so he could produce a first time win in the series.

"Nigel Heath is back from his work related enforced "miss" of Japan rally and will want to make up for a lost event. We have two locally entered PCWRC "wildcard" entries on this event. For Subaru we have Spyros Pavlides driving his Impreza here to uphold the local challenge to the PCWRC regulars.

"Do not underestimate these local crews; they know the conditions here better than most so should be able to survive the rigours of what many think is the world's toughest rally! I can't wait for the action to start!"

Pre-event test notes:
As is common practice before each PCWRC event, STI Group N Project General Manager George Donaldson once again conducted a pre-event test.

GD: "We've had ideal conditions for the test. Present from SUBARU were Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, Aki Teiskonen, Nigel Heath, Khalid Qassimi, and Spyros Pavlides.

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"It was great to see the drivers mixing, especially Khalid and Spyros chatting to the other SUBARU drivers and getting to know everyone. Both appeared to really enjoy the ambience, including the business-like and professional nature of the test. They were made to feel very welcome, both drivers treating the day with the appropriate level of seriousness.

"Through the day all objectives appeared to have been achieved. Aki Teiskonen ran until the very last minutes of the afternoon, refining suspension settings and getting the last few klicks just right.

"All drivers announced themselves happy with the test, with no problems encountered. Not present at the test was Toshi Arai, who was arriving from Indonesia.

"We've got six drivers lined up for a great run this weekend."