Ready, set and go

Rally drivers will be cruising on roads that enjoy some of the regions most stunning vistas

Organisers say that the recession has not affected applications, 380 being made for this year's rally of which 340 have been accepted. However, Michel Ferry, President of the Automobile Club de Monaco, reports that the crisis has changed the way nationalities are represented in 2010. "Spanish contestants have fallen by more than 30 per cent," he explains, "while Scandinavians have increased by more than 10 per cent."

The number of British competitors has also gone up from 21 to 28 teams.

Among those to watch will be Comas, navigating 10 Alpines with one decorated as a police car and driven by French gendarmes. Then there is the chefs' team, with some of the biggest names in French cuisine and Michelin-starred celebrity chef Michel Chabran in charge. It's no wonder that the ACM are anticipating a successful event; it has come a long way since 1998 when just 60 cars took part.

Tonight, the drivers start out from different check-points around Europe. Setting off from Turin will be British rally driver, Anna-Louise Felstead and her navigator, Debra Searle MBE. Felstead failed to complete the event last year so is even more revved up and ready to go this time around, her eyes firmly fixed on the coveted Ladies’ Cup.

“It's a fantastic event,“ she explains, “but it’s very gruelling and can be scary when the roads are icy and you're on unfamiliar roads in the dark. In 2009 I started swerving from left to right and was losing control, there were cars either side of me who had crashed and flipped over. Thankfully I managed to stop the car before anything disasterous happened. I put that down to skills I learnt in Finland at the Porsche Camp 4 ice driving course.”

Felstead was painfully close to crossing the finishing line in 2009, suffering a punctured tyre and getting lost in the final stage: “Due to the old cars and icy conditions, no one can guarantee what will happen,” she says stoically. Although Searle has never done the rally before, Felstead has every faith in her competitive drive and navigation skills, both of which she demonstrated in a solo row across the Atlantic. "I am hoping to draw on the 111 days of sleep deprivation I endured whilst rowing to keep A-L awake on mountain roads in the middle of the night!" says Searle.

Last weekend, the modern machines were racing in the 78th Monte-Carlo Rally, which was won by Mikko Hirvonen for the Pirelli team.

To find out how Anna-Louise fares pick up a copy of the March edition of The Riviera Times to read her rally diary.

In the meantime watch her and Debra prepare for the challenge at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Evl1ftk6pI

Hannah Marshall