The 2008 Intercontinental Rally Challenge returns to the Iberian Peninsula for the 45th Rally Principe de Asturias which is based in Oviedo, birthplace of Fernando Alonso.

The event will be new to the IRC regulars who face a tough task against the leading Spaniards whose ranks include Enrique Garcia Ojeda, winner of the 2007 event with his BFGoodrich-equipped Peugeot 207 S2000. The Rally Principe de Asturias is something of a landmark on the Spanish rally scene. It has been part of the calendar for so long that it almost feels as though it has been around since the founding of Oviedo when Asturia's King Fruela 1 stopped at the spot for a meal after hunting. The name Oviedo ('ubi edo': 'the place where I eat') dates from that moment.

Since then, Spain's top rally stars have taken the spoils on the Paso del Bombe podium. Carlos Sainz won the event outright in 1987 driving a Ford Sierra Cosworth before his reign in the WRC, while Jesus Puras – the man who gave the Citroën Xsara WRC its first world class success – has won his local event a record five times. Other recent winners include current Citroën works star Dani Sordo, the 2002 Junior World Champion Dani Sola and last year's winner Enrique Garcia Ojeda, who starts as favourite this time round with his Peugeot 207 S2000/BFGoodrich.

"This is the most charismatic round of the Spanish Championship," says Enrique Garcia Ojeda, the IRC's outgoing champ. "I love the atmosphere and there are always big crowds. I enjoy its stages, too. It's not as fast as the recent Barum Rally Zlin. The stages in the mountains bear Oviedo are narrower. It's more like the Sanremo."

"The roads give average grip and there are a few slippery, trickier portions," he continues. "I know the stages well following my victory last year when the route was identical. I am fully aware, though, that my rivals in the IRC are all very quick. It promises to be very close. The first day will be particularly tough, with a menu of nine stages totalling more than 150km."

Despite feedback from their colleague who follows the Spanish Championship, the Rally Principe de Asturias is the only European round of the 2008 IRC calendar that is unknown territory for BFGoodrich's IRC technical staff.

"There is every chance our drivers will use the hard compound g-Force Profiler if the weather is dry," predicts Jacques Morelli, BFGoodrich's IRC Programme Manager. "They will all also have a soft compound tyre available, as well as an intermediate pattern and a full rain tyre if the conditions are wet."

Prior to each rally, BFGoodrich's IRC technicians cover the entire route to analyse the surface and produce a tyre plan which they then submit to the teams' drivers and engineers.

"This job will be especially important in the case of the Rally Principe de Asturias because it's a new event for us," underlines Jacques Morelli. "Our technicians note and take photos of the different types of asphalt to be found along the route, and record readings such as air and ground temperatures with a view to adapting our tyres as closely as possible to the characteristics of the event in terms of compounds and pressures, as well as the most efficient 'cuts' drivers can make to the tread patterns should the weather be wet."