The Tour of Corsica is the seventh and penultimate round of the Junior World Rally Championship - but this is the event which Suzuki Swift drivers Guy Wilks and P-G Andersson will miss, in accordance with the championship rules. The 'dropped score' regulations require drivers to nominate one round in advance on which they cannot score points, and the Swift duo have chosen Corsica.

Urmo Aava aiming for a podium in Corsica

This sets the scene for the Suzuki Ignis drivers - who have been extremely competitive this year - to take centre stage. Suzuki Sports Europe will run two Ignis entries for Kosti Katajamaki and Urmo Aava, while Czech team JM Engineering will run Pavel Valousek and Alan Scorcioni. Finally, another Czech team - Jipocar - will enter an Ignis for Martin Prokop.

All the drivers know that they are in for a massive challenge. Corsica's reputation speaks for itself: the all-asphalt event is nicknamed "the rally of 10,000 corners". These corners are found on narrow and treacherous mountain roads that are characterised by frequent surface changes. Asphalt rallies may look as if they take place on reasonably consistent road surfaces, but this is far from the truth. The roads can offer very different levels of traction and grip, meaning that drivers have to make a carefully considered tyre choice before each loop of stages, and look out for unexpected variations in grip.

The Corsican weather certainly does not help. Up in the mountains, rain, mist and fog is a common occurrence. The weather is also very changeable, meaning that a sudden downpour can turn the rally on its head. Weather forecasting is only reliable up to a point, so the drivers often have to use their gut instinct when it comes to choosing tyres. When it's slippery, the two-wheel drive Junior World Rally Championship cars suffer more than most - as they do not have the benefit of four-wheel drive like the bigger World Rally Cars.

Finn Kosti Katajamaki is competing for the first time in Corsica, although the Ignis driver did the recce last year. Backed by two-time World Champion Marcus Gronholm, Kosti is just aiming to get as much experience of the event as possible.

He said: "It's not going to be easy for me. I would say that I am stronger on gravel events than I am on asphalt, and this is not a rally that I know at all well. I also think that the two Citroen drivers will be very fast in Corsica: their car was specifically designed for this type of event. I'm going to be going as fast as possible, and I'd like to think I have a chance of the podium. My realistic objective has to be third place. But I'm going to have to fight hard for it. Mirco Baldacci in the Fiat will also be quick, without a doubt. The only thing that could tip the odds in my favour is rain, as it would cancel out my lack of experience."

Estonian Urmo Aava has a strong record on asphalt events, having finished second in class with Suzuki on the world-famous Monte Carlo Rally. He is hoping for another top result on the twisty roads of Corsica.

"I like this sort of a challenge, so I'm going to be going flat-out," he said. "However, it's important not to take too many risks so that you are still there at the finish. There are a lot of things that can catch you out in Corsica, so you need a good set of pace notes and total concentration. Not to mention a bit of luck as well! To a large extent it will depend on the weather. If it rains hard, the rally will be a lot more unpredictable."

Pavel Valousek, Alan Scorcioni and Martin Prokop are all newcomers to Corsica, who are aiming to come away with some basic knowledge of the event. Corsica is a notoriously unforgiving rally for any novice, so their priority is firmly to get to the finish.

An extra pressure on all the drivers is the fact that the Catalunya Rally - the final round of the Junior World Rally Championship - takes place the weekend after Corsica, with all the cars, drivers and equipment heading straight to Spain. This means that an accident in Corsica could potentially rule out participation in Spain as well. The only people unaffected by this are the Swift team of Wilks and Andersson, who will make their return on the Catalunya Rally.

Suzuki Sport President Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima stated: "Corsica will be a different type of event, with the emphasis firmly on the Ignis which has still shown itself to be capable of competing at the very top level. The talents of Kosti and Urmo are well established, and we look forward to seeing a good performance from the other three drivers as well. But of all the rallies, Corsica is one of the most difficult to predict. Anything could happen - and the fact that the Catalunya Rally is straight afterwards adds an interesting extra dimension."

The Tour de Corse gets underway with a ceremonial start in Ajaccio on Thursday 20 October at 19:00 (CET). Crews then go on to tackle 12 special stages totalling 341 kilometres before the finish back in Ajaccio on Sunday 23 October at 13:50 (CET).