In general, legs one and two of the rally are similar to last year's, with a few changes here and there, but on stage one a massive 25km is new. The road surface is quite loose and rutted, it's very long, and I'd say it was one of the most difficult stages of the rally. Drivers looking for a gentle, confidence building stage to ease them into the event are going to be disappointed! Right form the start the route is difficult, and it's a deceptive piece of road too. There are lots of crests with corners directly afterwards, many of which look same, but they're not. The stage finishes with a very fast downhill sprint to the line.

A bit easier than Crastazza, but a tough challenge nevertheless. The first five kilometres are extremely tricky as the road is narrow yet fast and runs between trees. After this difficult start we turn right onto a main road and run on tarmac for around 200m before rejoining the gravel through a narrow gate. Gravel tyres on tarmac aren't the best combination and judging the correct braking point here isn't easy. After that there are a lot of square junctions, crests, straights and narrow gates and another tarmac section near the end.

I reckon this will be the most important stage of the day. It starts easily enough, the first 5km are the same as last year, but then it switches to part of a stage run in 2005, but in reverse. This means it is a familiar piece of road and you know, broadly, what is coming up. But it's the end that is really difficult, especially the last 5km where there are a lot of details on the notes to read. This is the big challenge of Monte Olia, and drivers and co-drivers really need to concentrate. There's a short tarmac section, a big jump and lots of corners - most of which we'll be cutting, so the road will get really dirty. The second time through is likely to be extremely rough.

Geographically, Loelle is close to the stages of Leg one, but in character it's completely different. The route is mainly the same as last year, and it features lots of square junctions, but it's also very narrow and fast in places. You can expect so see a few retirements here as there is absolutely no room for error - cars have to be exactly on the right line to avoid the rocks that line the road. The last four of five kilometres are especially narrow and tricky and there are a few big crests to contend with.

The leg's longest stage and, as it's exactly the same a last year, one we already have the notes for. It includes a mix of conditions; there are narrow, rough bits as well as some fast and smooth sections, and quite a few tricky hairpins going downhill. At 21km there's a massive jump over the crest of hill where the road just falls away. This is the one that Chris drove over a little too quickly last year! The road has been changed a bit so it's not quite as big as it was last year, but you can't hit it flat out. The last five kilometres are much faster than the rest of the stage as it's all downhill. Nevertheless the average speed is still quite low as there are lots of square junctions in the forest.

A bit different to the rest of the leg, Su Filigosu has been modified this year to include a new section at the start. The new road is slightly wider, there are lots of rocks scattered around and it includes a tricky downhill tarmac section. Then we join the old stage and it's a bit faster, before we come to a famous junction with a big watersplash, not a big one compared to the ones in Argentina, but the biggest one of the rally anyway. The last 6km are really tricky, there are lots of jumps, crests and corners and it's bumpy and hard on the suspension. It's hard to get into a rhythm and you really need to trust the notes, because you can't see what the co-driver is calling, so it means complete trust. For me the last 5kms of Su Filigosu are the most difficult ones of the day.

Generally the stages on leg three feature a harder road surface and are faster that the ones on legs one and two. Giovanni is a prime example, it starts out really fast and very nice, - almost like Argentina in places - it's wide and open and there's a bit of tarmac there too. But after 6km the character changes completely and it becomes very narrow and tricky. It's very easy to make a mistake on this last section - perhaps hit a rock and damage a wheel. I reckon the last four kilometres are the most difficult of the day.

Monte Nuragone is another fast one. A lot of the stage is run next to a quarry, where the lorries moving the stone have damaged the road surface so it's definitely the most bumpy and rough of the rally. That said, it's not the most difficult stage but you need to be thinking about the effects of the bumps all the time. The last 2kms are really fast with a lot of places to cut corners.

Braniatogghiu is a very fast and nice stage. It features one big crest in the middle, but apart from that there's nothing too remarkable about it. The hard road can be dusty though, which means it can clean quite a lot and the first car will be at a disadvantage as it sweeps the road for those following.