Single Entry Manufacturer Teams Allowed
The FIA's World Rally Championship Commission has decided that single car world championship manufacturers entries will be accepted from now on, subject to the approval of the teams which have already registered two-car entries. This opens up the way for Munchi's Ford World Rally Team to be eligible to score championship points despite only making a single entry on the forthcoming Cyprus Rally. Another move to strengthen the various FIA world rally championships agreed at the WRCC meetings this week is to allow organisers, should they wish, to nominate more than the regulatory two Guest "wild card" entries for the JWRC and PCWRC series. An FIA official explained these moves were intended as a adjustment to current global financial pressures. Currently only four teams have been registered at the FIA for the 2009 world series, each running normal two-car teams. Over the last two years the FIA has been seeking ways to prevent the embarrassment of "starting line entries", as performed by the OMV Kronos Citroen WRTeam in Sardinia in 2007. Although the topic of the 2010 world championship calendar was discussed, no changes in the existing calendar were recommended at this week's meetings.

Fastest Times for Juniors?
The FIA will allow the two-wheel drive competitors on the forthcoming Cyprus Rally to run with asphalt tyres on the asphalt stages to be run on the opening day of the event. All the four-wheel drive entries must run with gravel tyres throughout the event, even though the first day features only all-asphalt stages. On account of assumptions that the WRC teams drivers are likely to drive slowly and play tactics on the opening day of Cyprus Rally, this ruling raises the spectre of the Junior World Rally Championship competitors matching the times of the World Rally Cars on these stages! Once again the tactics issues arise in order to avoid running first cars on the road on the gravel stages, which are expected to be covered by loose stones and favour later running crews. Cyprus Rally counts for both the Production Car as well as the Junior championship as well as the World Rally Car teams. Only three JWRC entries are expected to start the event – the Suzuki drivers Aaron Burkart and Michal Kosciuszko as well as the Citroen driver Martin Prokop. Burkart commented "yes, it is true. It will be rather funny if one of us beats the World Rally Car drivers, but it can only happen on the Friday".

Nasser Back to Subaru
After a single winning appearance at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, five times FIA Middle East champion and 2006 world Production Car champion Nasser Al Attiyah reverts to a Subaru car for his first appearance in the 2009 PCWRC series. Nasser had plans to drive Mitsubishi cars this year, until the parent company announced it would reduce its official competition activities. He contested just one event in the Mitsubishi, the Qatar Rally which was the opening round of the 2009 MERC series. For Cyprus Rally he takes over the Subaru entry of the Cypriot Spyros Pavlides who has had to withdraw from the event for business reasons. No announcement has yet been made about Al Attiyah's future plans after Cyprus.

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