The registration of entries for next week's Rally Russia is now complete. While some slight changes in the final entry list are still possible, it already includes 83 crews from 10 countries, of which 27 crews will be fighting for victory in the general classification of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

The rally has led to a lot of serious interest in both Russia and Europe, with organizers being forced to extend the entry list. Additionally, the overall itinerary of the rally has been extended for this year as well, with 70 kilometres of extra stages compared to the 2007 edition.

Amongst those coming to Vyborg and St. Petersburg are former World Rally Champion Didier Auriol, and former European Champions Giandomenico Basso and Simon Jean-Joseph.

The winner of last year's Rally Russia, Anton Alen, will try to defend his title, but he will be faced with increasingly strong opposition. The visitors will be challenged by the best Russian rally drivers – such as Evgeniy Novikov, Evgeniy Vertunov, Alexander Zheludov and Andrey Zhigunov.

The event counts for the Open Russian Championship as well as the IRC. In contrast to the previous year, most of the European crews already know what to expect from Rally Russia; they will be hard-pushed however to beat the locals – as was demonstrated by Evgeniy Novikov's majestic performance last year.

The fight promises to be a tough one and it's almost impossible to predict a winner. The start takes place on St. Isaac's square in St Petersburg on July 10 from 5pm.