The 2008 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) reaches the halfway point when the eighth round takes place in Turkey this weekend (12-15 June).

After a year off, Rally of Turkey has a new calendar date in the northern-hemisphere summer which is sure to add to its demands on drivers, teams and cars. Covering 19 gravel stages through the harsh Anatolian mountains above the holiday resorts on Turkey’s southern coastline, rough conditions and heat will be a similar test to that endured in Greece two weeks prior.

Based at the Mediterranean resort of Kemer, the rally is unique in that it starts with a super stage at the university on the Thursday evening in nearby Antalya. Followed by 155km of competition on the Friday, the remaining 205km threads through the rocky western mountain ranges, using clay roads that often vary in condition. Weather often changes in the hilltops and, while dry weather is expected to keep the surface hard, rain can quickly create slippery mud. With all teams using Pirelli's Scorpion WRC hard compound tyre, it will be an added measure of driver skill should a cold front sweep through.

First car through on the Friday, Citroen's Sébastien Loeb says being current championship leader means he'll be first on the road in Turkey. "That will be really difficult for us," said Loeb, who leads by one point and has now amassed 41 World Rally victories. "Daniel Elena (the co-driver) and I face the delights of ‘road-sweeping' and that promises to be a big handicap, unless the conditions are damp."

The Rally of Turkey will be the second of three events in which teams must use the same engine for the whole three days, a cost-cutting and endurance requirement from world motorsport governing body, the FIA.

The event is also a round of the Production-World Rally Championship (P-WRC). Austria's Andreas Aigner is out to make it three-from-three wins. The Red Bull Rally Team Mitsubishi EVO IX driver has only three events - including Repco Rally New Zealand in August - left to secure the championship title for the season.

Seventy-six cars will start the event, comprising 16 WRC cars entered by the six manufacturer teams, 23 P-WRC cars and 37 local entrants, and the 2007 winner of the Ford Fiesta Sporting Trophy, Barry Clark (Scotland) will start with the Munchi's Ford team; his reward for winning the global title.

Staying on after official duties in Paris, New Zealand's Morrie Chandler, president of the World Rally Championship Commission will also be present at the event.

World Rally Championship driver points (top-six) after round seven

1, Sébastien Loeb, Citroen, 50pts

2, Mikko Hirvonen, Ford, 49pts

3, Chris Atkinson, Subaru, 31pts  

4, Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford, 26pts

5, Dani Sordo, Citroen, 25pts

6, Petter Solberg, Subaru, 17pts                  

World Rally Championship Manufacturer points after round seven

1, BP Ford Abu Dhabi, 81pts

2, Citroen Total, 79pts

3, Subaru, 50pts

4, Stobart VK M-Sport, 37pts

5, Munchi's Ford, 16pts

6, Suzuki, 10pts