Banbury's Subaru World Rally Team will head to the northerly Japanese island of Hokkaido for the last long-haul rally and the penultimate round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season.

David Richards, Subaru World Rally Team Principal, said: “We come to Rally Japan this year with a new car and big expectations on what is effectively our ‘home event'.

The change of location for the rally may well prove to be a leveller between the front runners but it’s always been an event that throws up surprises and there’s every chance that both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles could be settled on this rally.”

Rally Japan, which runs from October 28 to November 2, has traditionally been a punishing event; a rally of attrition.

Since the inaugural event in 2004, the event has been won by four different manufacturers and four different drivers, including Subaru’s Petter Solberg’s victory in that opening year.

“It’s a completely new event for us and the drivers haven’t done the recce or driven the stages before” said Paul Howarth, Subaru World Rally Team operations director. “We’re expecting quite low temperatures, but it’s been 20C this week so it’s hard to know exactly. It’ll be as tricky as any Rally Japan though, especially the second passes of the stages where it’ll get very rutted.

“When you get rutted roads you don’t know what surprises you’re going to get as the cars could pull rocks up from beneath the surface, and because the roads are narrow these rocks won’t be swept to one side away from the line.

“Rally Japan has got a bit of everything; it’s got medium-fast, slow and high-speed sections, up and down hill gradients and a new superspecial stage on tarmac. It’s very unique, and hasn’t got any one particular characteristic. The drivers are not going to get a real feel for the conditions until they actually do the first stage because the shakedown is run on the superspecial stage and therefore is on tarmac.

“The conditions and the nature of the rally will be pretty similar to the event in past years, as they’ve all had a mixture of everything” Howarth added. “We’re also going to be running in the dark, so it’s the first time since GB last year that the drivers will have done so. That’ll throw up some challenges as the second passes of stages are those that will be dark, so you’ll have the tricky, rutted conditions and the darkness combined.

“The ruts are where you can really make or lose time. If you’ve got a lot of confidence and can really commit and hold the line, then you’ll be very fast. We haven’t driven in these wet conditions on gravel with a low ambient since Rally Argentina earlier this year, and there is a championship fight on as well which could be decided in Japan, so it’ll be a very challenging event.”

Solberg said: "Rally Japan is a special event for me and for Subaru. My message to the Subaru and WRC fans in Japan is this: please look forward to this rally! We have been shifting our focus to gravel performance for Japan and GB and developing a set-up that will get the best from the car in these conditions. Just like when I won Rally Japan in 2004, I will head to Japan thinking of nothing but a victory.

“Even though it’s all new, the fact that I’ve been to Japan so many times before should be an advantage for me. Japan is my second home. The Japanese rally fans are so enthusiastic, and it is a very important rally for Subaru and for me, so I know the fans will be great at cheering us on!"