The entry list is now complete ahead of the World Rally Championship's penultimate round of the year at Rally Spain. 80 crews representing 28 different countries have signed up for the event situated on Catalonia's Costa Daurada.

The event's 45th edition will be based in Salou from October 1st to 4th, with rally headquarters next to the Port Aventura park.

Following the Citroen camp's post-rally penalty in Australia, victory shifted from Sebastien Loeb to Mikko Hirvonen and gave the Finn a five-point advantage in the drivers' standings. The Spanish round will therefore be crucial in conquering the 2009 crown.

The situation also means that a number of Citroen C4 WRCs and Ford Focus RS WRCs could very well play an important part in the title fight, and all five teams participating in the World Rally Championship will have at least two cars defending their interests in Spain.

Citroen team drivers Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo have to push, while the Ford outfit's Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala have to keep them at bay. Stobart Ford's Henning Solberg and Matthew Wilson will join the fray, along with the Munchi's Ford duo of Federico Villagra and Paul Bird.

The Citroen Junior Team will be represented by Evgeny Novikov and Conrad Rautenbach, in addition to three more C4 WRCs handled by Petter Solberg, Sebastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen. Ford has a third driver on hand with Khalid al Qassimi behind the wheel of another Focus RS WRC.

In other words, the ambition of most drivers will be to squeeze in between the title contenders, all to their respective camp's benefit.