The Barum Rally Zlin has broken the record for the highest number of Super 2000 cars ever to start an IRC event, with 22 of these cars on the entry list, not including the new Skoda Fabia S2000 course car.

The battle for the top spot in the drivers' rankings is tight, with only six points separating Nicolas Vouilloz at the top of the leaderboard from Luca Rossetti in second. However, both drivers will face an incredibly high-quality field, which includes the reigning Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Enrique Garcia Ojeda, making his return to the series this weekend.

Of the local drivers, three-time Barum Rally winner Roman Kresta is the favourite, at the wheel of a Peugeot. Abarth is represented by its usual line-up of Giandomenico Basso and Anton Alen, returning to the Grande Punto after missing the Madeira Rally due to illness. Former European champion Renato Travaglia is also at the wheel of a Grande Punto S2000.

Mitsubishi is represented by local hero Vaclav Pech, a two-time Czech champion and a former winner of the Barum Rally Zlin. Volkswagen driver Bernd Casier makes a welcome return to the IRC series for the first time since Belgium, whilst Honda is present with Alessandro Bettega in the Civic Type R R3.

The Italian, who is the son of the legendary Attilio Bettega, had a successful test in the Honda recently and is upbeat about his prospects in the fiercely-contested IRC 2WD Cup.

This means that all five registered IRC manufacturers – Abarth, Honda, Mitsubishi, Peugeot and Volkswagen – will once more be reunited in the Czech Republic.

New faces to the IRC include Frenchman Bryan Bouffier, driving a Peugeot 207 S2000, and the similar car of Pavel Valousek, who won the BFGoodrich drivers' team seat for his home event.

Enrique Garcia Ojeda:

"I'm very much looking forward to getting back to the IRC, and the Barum Rally Zlin is an event that I really appreciate. It's always been an extremely competitive and closely-fought event, and this will be the case even more than usual this year, with 22 Super 2000 cars starting the event. I think it's a rally that suits me well: last year we were leading before we had a mechanical problem. My goal is to try to win it this year, but I would be happy to finish anywhere on the podium."

Anton Alen:

"Now I am feeling a lot better and quite positive heading into this rally. Last year we had a good pace and we were up to fourth overall, but then we had an accident. Many of the stages have been changed this year, with a lot of them run in the opposite direction to how they were in 2007, so there is still a lot for us to learn. The shakedown will be important for me as I have not driven on asphalt since Ypres in June."