All eyes in the FIA World Rally Championship’s penultimate round will be focused on the battle for the manufacturers’ championship crown - and a trouble-free weekend for Toyota Gazoo Racing could seal the deal.
The Japanese manufacturer currently tops the standings by 81 points from its Korean rivals with just 104 points available from the final two rallies.
It fields a trio of GR Yaris cars, led by newly-crowned drivers’ champion Kalle Rovanperä. He is joined by eight-time title-holder Sébastien Ogier as well as Welshman Elfyn Evans, with Takamoto Katsuta also scoring points for the team’s Next Generation squad.
Hyundai’s hopes rest on the shoulders of Ott Tänak, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo, who returns to action for the first time since Greece in early September. With nine podiums on his local event, Sordo could be a dark horse - although a home victory has so far remained elusive for the 39-year-old.
M-Sport Ford’s line-up is back to full strength with Craig Breen leading the five-pronged Puma attack for co-driver Paul Nagle’s final WRC event.
Gus Greensmith features alongside returning Frenchmen Pierre-Louis Loubet and Adrien Fourmaux, while Greek privateer Jourdan Serderidis also has an entry.
A whopping 33 cars will start in WRC2, the sport’s premier support category. They include title aspirants Emil Lindholm and Kajetan Kajetanowicz in a pair of Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evos as well as Yohan Rossel in a Citroën C3 Rally2.
European championship frontrunner Nil Solans campaigns a Hyundai i20 N, as do Teemu Suninen, Josh McErlean and Grégoire Munster.
WRC3 is also well-supported. With points leader Sami Pajari contesting WRC2 in a Fabia, Jan Černý tops the all-Ford Fiesta Rally3 entry and could move into the championship lead with a strong result.
Černý has an identical score to Finnish youngster Lauri Joona, with Greece-winning Diego Dominguez also gunning for glory on the all-asphalt event.
Finland
Italy
Hungary