Cyprus Rally entry list published

The organisers of the Cyprus Rally have published a 35-strong entry list for the event which starts from Limassol on 12 March.

Championship leader after two rounds Sebastien Loeb heads a 12-strong entry of World Rally Cars. As usual the Frenchman will be partnered at the Citroen Total team by Spaniard Dani Sordo. The BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team will be represented by Finns Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala and Emirati driver Khalid Al Qassimi.

Three Manufacturer Teams have registered for the rally. Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg will line up for the Stobart VK M-Sport squad, while Evgeny Novikov and Conrad Rautenbach are the nominated points scorers for the Citroen Junior team. Sebastien Ogier will drive a third C4 WRC for the French squad. The last competitor registered for the Manufacturers’ competition is seven times Argentinean Rally Champion Federico Villagra who will make his 2009 WRC debut for the Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team.

Petter Solberg is also confirmed as the driver of his own ‘MSN edition’ rally team. Solberg will drive a Citroen Xsara WRC.

The Cyprus Rally is the first of four consecutive rallies this season to be eligible for both the P-WRC and J-WRC categories. Fifteen crews are registered for the Production competotion, including the man who leads the series, Patrik Sandell.

Only three of the crews tackling the J-WRC have chosen to compete in Cyprus. Series leader Aaron Burkart and second placed man Martin Prokop will be joined by Michal Kosciuszko.

The Cyprus Rally is the only rally in this year’s calendar to feature a mixture of stage surfaces; asphalt on the first day and gravel on the two which follow.