Four Suzuki Ignis cars have crossed the start ramp of the all-asphalt Corsica Rally, the penultimate round of the Junior World Rally Championship.

Kosti Katajamaki is will defend the Suzuki colours in Corsica

The Suzuki drivers in Corsica are Kosti Katajamaki and Urmo Aava, run by Suzuki Sport Europe. Also driving is Pavel Valousek, run by Czech team JM Engineering, and Martin Prokop, in an Ignis entered by Jipocar.

Corsica is the first of two asphalt rallies that are run back-to-back, and it is an excellent opportunity for the Ignis drivers - who have performed well all season - to come to the forefront. In the absence of Andersson and Wilks, the remaining drivers also have an opportunity to consolidate their championship scores before the title is decided in Spain.

The Tour of Corsica - to give the event its full name - has a fearsome reputation. It is characterised by winding, narrow mountain roads and plenty of hairpin bends. The event has traditionally been nicknamed 'the rally of 10,000 corners' and it is easy to see why. Making things even more complicated are the constantly changing asphalt surfaces and levels of grip. This means that the driving conditions are extremely inconsistent and unpredictable. The weather does not help either, with both bright sunshine and rain a possibility.

The drivers had a brief taste of these challenges when they completed the shakedown this morning: a last-minute opportunity to check settings and finalise the set-up on roads similar to those that will be used for the rally. Conditions were typically mixed, with several wet and slippery corners.

For the Suzuki Sport Europe drivers, the shakedown passed without incident. Kosti Katajamaki, the protege of two-time World Champion Marcus Gronholm, commented: "Corsica is a very difficult event, but I am aiming for a podium finish. The shakedown was no problem at all, and it was a useful start to what will be a lot of asphalt driving over the next two weeks. There will be several other fast cars, but we have reliability and strength on our side."

Urmo Aava, from Estonia, loves asphalt events and also had a trouble-free shakedown. He said: "The settings of the car felt good and I am sure we can do a good job here. The roads seem to be extremely slippery, but we expected that. We have to think about looking after the car on this event as well, as we will be using it again in just a week's time."

However, the shakedown was much more exciting for Pavel Valousek - for all the wrong reasons. The Czech - with a new co-driver for this event as his regular navigator is becoming a father this weekend - rolled his Ignis at low speed after getting caught out on a particularly tricky corner. The damage was extensive but his mechanics are doing an excellent job to get the Ignis to the start of the rally tomorrow.

"It was my fault - I just came into the corner too fast," said Pavel. "Thankfully the damage is not too bad now and I think it will be OK to use the same car in Catalunya. After this, my rally can only get better!"

Czech youngster Martin Prokop is driving in Corsica for the first time, and his aim is to chalk up some experience rather than go for outright stage times. "It seems very easy to make a mistake here," he said. "My aim will be to stay out of trouble so that I can learn as much as possible. The car certainly feels good."

Suzuki Sport President Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima commented: "Good luck to all the Ignis drivers in Corsica! I hope their performance will prove that the Ignis is still at the top of its game. This is one of the most tricky rallies of the year, so the main aim will be for all of them to still be there at the finish."

The action in Corsica starts on Friday morning at 09:18 (CET), with the first of 12 special stages. The finish takes place on Sunday at 13:50 (CET) back in Ajaccio.