The Rally Deutschland marks the asphalt debut of the all-new Suzuki Swift Super 1600 - the car which was quicker than any rival on its gravel debut in Finland two weeks ago, setting a scintillating series of fastest stage times.

Tarmac debut for the Suzuki Swift in Germany

The German event is round six of the Junior World Rally Championship and the first one to be held on proper asphalt roads. However, German asphalt is like no other anywhere else in the world, and it will provide a massive challenge for Swift drivers P-G Andersson and Guy Wilks.

The rally is made up of two old national events rolled into one and this is very evident in the disparate nature of the stages. The opening day takes place over narrow and slippery vineyard roads, which consist mostly of straights and tight hairpin bends. Day two is the most fearsome of the entire rally as it is run on the Baumholder military ranges, using roads that were originally designed to test tanks! The surface is abrasive concrete, which becomes extremely slippery when wet. The edges of the concrete roads are very sharp, and often cause punctures. This is a particular risk for the Junior World Rally Championship entrants, who are not allowed to use anti-deflation mousse. The final day of the rally contains more conventional European asphalt roads, with a wide variety of speeds and corners.

The weather is a constant question mark, and conditions become even more treacherous than usual if it rains, as is often the case. The Junior World Rally Championship cars have only two-wheel drive, which means that traction and grip is a critical factor.

Englishman Guy Wilks currently leads the Junior World Rally Championship after a stunning performance on the Swift's debut in Finland, where he overhauled a five-minute deficit on the first stage following a puncture to finish third overall. He is also one of the very few Junior World Championship drivers to have previous experience of the Rally Deutschland.

He said: "Germany is always a very difficult rally, but I've got a very good feeling with the Swift and this should hopefully enable us to come away with a good result. The tricky and variable conditions should play to the Swift's strengths, and it's got plenty of power to cope with the fast sections. There's a bit of pressure on me because I'm in the lead of the championship and of course I want to keep it that way. But the pace is so hot that there's very little time for tactics - you are usually flat out from the start!"

Reigning Junior World Rally Champion P-G Andersson is attempting the Rally Deutschland for the first time, but he is looking forward to the experience. "I'm not entirely sure what to expect but I'm told that Germany is a tough and varied rally where you need a bit of luck - a bit like Monte Carlo," said the Swede. "I've got to try and win as many events as possible now to stand a chance of keeping the championship. I had a big accident in Finland, but I understand the reasons why and it's not going to affect my confidence one bit!"

In addition to the two new Swifts, Suzuki Sport Europe will run a pair of Ignis Super 1600 cars for Kosti Katajamaki and Urmo Aava - who also drove the Ignis last year. Czech team JM Engineering will additionally run an Ignis for Czech Pavel Valousek. Finally, there will be another Ignis run by Czech team Jipocar for Martin Prokop.

Kosti Katajamaki commented: "I like asphalt rallies, and Germany is a massive challenge for everybody. My mission now is to score points after I had some problems in Finland. I know that I have the speed, but the most important thing for me is to string it together into a consistent result. Germany is a rally where you have to be a bit tactical: it is so easy to make a stupid mistake and that is the last thing I want."

Urmo Aava said: "I was in a position to challenge for the lead of Rally Finland, and now that my confidence is up, my target is to try and do the same in Germany. It won't be easy, particularly if it rains. But I've got a lot of confidence in the car and the team so I'll be pushing hard to see what I can do. If luck is on my side, it's possible to fight for the win."

Pavel Valousek said: "We showed a good pace in Finland, but unfortunately we were not able to make the finish. My target in Germany is to score some points and continue the good record we have had since the start of the season. If we stay out of trouble, we can do well."

Martin Prokop commented: "I expect Germany to be a very steep learning curve for me. Finland turned out to be our best result of the year though, and I'd like to capitalise on the progress we have made to build on my experience and confidence."

Suzuki Sport President Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima stated: "We were very pleased with the speed shown by the Swift in Finland and its first podium. We are now looking forward to our asphalt debut, which will be just as important. We have done some testing on asphalt already, but the conditions in Germany are very specific so we will carry out a two-day test there just before the start of the event. I also think the Ignis drivers will be able to challenge for the top places in Germany. Urmo and Kosti are both very quick, and our two young Czechs are improving rapidly."

The Rally Deutschland gets underway with a ceremonial start in Trier on Thursday 25 August at 20:00 (CET). Crews then go on to tackle 19 special stages totalling 355 kilometres before the finish back in Trier on Sunday 28 August at 15:30 (CET).