Looking ahead to the first major event of the year

The Monte Carlo Rally, which takes place from January 19-23, represents the first major four-wheeled motorsport event of the 2010 season - and therefore, of course, the first opportunity to gain points and positions in the Castrol Rankings.

For the second year the event, based in the Monegasque capital but consisting mainly of stages on the mountainous roads of Southern France, is a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. And, with the fame of the Monte far outstripping that of the still-young IRC, it has attracted several big names from outside the series, not least that of Formula 1 star Robert Kubica, but more of that later.

Of the regular rally stars on the entry list, highest-placed in the Castrol Rankings is Mikko Hirvonen. The Finn, who was pipped to the 2009 World Rally Championship title, is to give the Ford Fiesta S2000 its IRC debut. Hirvonen currently lies in 10th place overall in the Castrol Rankings, but with a clutch of drivers just ahead of him. If this gravel expert were to give the Fiesta a shock victory on the asphalt roads (which may well be snowy), he could jump as many three places up the table, in front of F1 star Mark Webber and IndyCar aces Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon.

Hirvonen's fellow WRC star, Sebastien Ogier, is also set to contest the Monte. He will drive a Peugeot 207 S2000, the very model with which he scored a surprise win on the event last season in a one-off IRC outing. A repeat result would elevate him several positions above his current 70th spot.

The versatile Stephane Sarrazin, who used to be a works Subaru driver in the WRC and now is a leading member of Peugeot's Le Mans/sportscar team, will also make a Monte Carlo comeback at the wheel of another 207 and will be a leading contender.

These men will all need to beat reigning IRC champion Kris Meeke. The Northern Irishman is back for more of the same this year, with the famed Kronos team once again running his Peugeot. He will be hoping that he does not fall victim to the treacherous conditions and repeat his Monte Carlo crash of 2009.

Meeke's former team-mate, 2008 IRC champion Nicolas Vouilloz, transfers to the Skoda line-up. Like new team-mate Jan Kopecky, who ran Meeke closest for the IRC crown last year, Vouilloz is a specialist on asphalt. Bearing in mind that the Skoda Fabia is now awesomely quick, snow-free conditions could make these two the acts to beat. The team's third driver, Juho Hanninen, is more of a gravel man, so will likely aim for points rather than victory on this event.

Another Skoda will be driven by Englishman Guy Wilks as a privateer Skoda GB entrant run by the Rene Georges Rally Sport team. On his debut with the Fabia, on Rally Scotland two months ago, Wilks inherited victory after Meeke's exclusion. But, like Hanninen, he is a gravel specialist so victory on the Monte would be a surprise - and a huge achievement.

Keep an eye out too for former WRC regular Toni Gardemeister, who will be competing in the event in an Italian Astra Racing Abarth Grande Punto Super 2000 alongside co-driver Tomi Tuominen. Gardemeister's current Castrol Ranking of 1531 belies the Finn's talent and he could be a dark horse on the Monte.

Finally, back to Renault ace Kubica, who will become the first of this year's Formula 1 stars to add to his Rankings score, by starting the Monte Carlo Rally in a Renault Clio R3.

The Pole currently lies 35th and will struggle to make any headway on 34th-placed NASCAR star Matt Kenseth, but you never know what might happen if he keeps the little Clio on the road and there is a high rate of attrition among the Super 2000 and Group N cars.