Up-and-coming British star Guy Wilks – who has been a regular front-runner in the Junior World Rally Championship – will drive a Honda Civic Type R R3 in Russia.

The Englishman has contested only one rally with the car before, in Australia, but he is hoping for a good result on the flowing stages of Russia.

"I don't really know what to expect for this rally, but I'm not worried about it," he said. "From our previous experience with the car in Australia we know the Honda is quick, and I think we can aim for a good result."

"I've got a new co-driver for the first time since 2002," he pointed out. "So that will probably need a bit of time to get used to, but it's just a question of taking everything as it comes."

"Hopefully we'll be able to get out on some other IRC events in the future. I'd like to think we've already made some useful developments to the car while we've been testing," Wilks added.

Alessandro Bettega demonstrated the potential of the new Honda by leading the IRC 2WD Cup in Ypres last week, before crashing out on a tricky corner.