Rally Poland, the second oldest rally in the world and the most prestigious motorsport event in the country, celebrates its 65th anniversary in 2008. The history of Rally Poland dates back to 1921. Since 2005, the rally has been based in Mikolajki, in north east Poland, featuring spectacular gravel roads and lakes in the Mazurian forest. It counts for both the European and Polish Rally Championship, holding the status of IRC Supporter Event in the same time, and in 2009 will join the World Rally Championship. Hotel Go³êbiewski in Mikolajki will act as rally headquarters, with its excellent facilities and nearly 700 rooms. The service park will be situated next to the hotel. Attractions for competitors and visitors include some breathtaking landscapes, a wide variety of hotels, and some cosy restaurants.  The route of the 65th Rally Poland covers 750 km, with 12 gravel special stages making up 280 competitive kilometres and a superspecial stage run twice on a newly built circuit. The ‘Mazurian Pearl’ – as the region is often called – is situated in the heart of lakes and forests, offering excellent opportunities for sailing, windsurfing, canoeing, angling, cycling and horse riding.

The history of the Veszprem Rally in Hungary began 25 years ago. It started off through the ideas of a small group of friends, who wanted to contribute something to the burgeoning Hungarian rally scene. Nowadays, the Veszprem Rally has grown to become a legendary round of the Hungarian Rally Championship. The stages have a hard surface with a lot of gravel, presenting a stern challenge to the cars and drivers year by year. It's no surprise that competitors and the media have nicknamed this event "the mini-Acropolis in Hungary". The stages take place mostly on military terrain, and include Dakar-like sections used on the Central European Rally and Hungarian Baja. The Veszprem Rally has more going for it than just the event itself, because Veszprem is close to the stunning scenery of the Bakony hills and Lake Balaton, which is the biggest lake in central Europe. Balaton is famous the world over for its wine as well, which can be very attractive for tired spectators and competitors at the end of the rally! This rally played a small role in changing European history too, as under the communist regime it was one of the few places where families from East Germany and West Germany could meet. On the sporting side, the rally has hosted some of the most famous international competitors, such as Gigi Galli, Jan Kopecky, Enrico Bertone, Attila Ferjanc, Laszlo Ranga, Janos Toth Jr and Josef Beres Jr.

Rallye Coeur de France is one of France's leading asphalt rallies - providing some of the most technically demanding stages in the country. The competitive action on this premier division rally runs between the towns of Tours and Amboise to the backdrop of the stunning Loire valley. The event will start on August 29 and finishes after two days of flat-out driving on August 30.

The legendary Targa Florio is the one of oldest races in the world to have been continually run. It was originally promoted by Vincenzo Florio, the scion of a prominent Sicilian family of entrepreneurs. After World Wars I and II, the Targa Florio became valid for the World Makes' Championship in GT racing, with sports cars from Porsche, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo winning the event. The list of past competitors reads like a roll call of motor racing's greats: Moss, Maglioli, Bonnier, Hill, Muller, Elford, Vaccarella, Bandini, Gendebien, Larrousse, Siffert and Redman. From 1978 the race switched its focus to rallying, becoming valid for the European Championship, FIA Rally Cup and for the Italian Rally Championship. Since 1978 the winners have included more star names such as Andruet, Cerrato, Tognana, Cunico, Liatti, Travaglia, Longhi and Andreucci. The special stages are run on the Madonie mountains, 50km from Palermo (Sicily's capital) and some of them are very similar to those of the “Piccolo circuito delle Madonie” (the 'short' Madonie circuit - which is 72 km long) that used to be valid for the World Makes' Championship. The rally begins from the city centre of Palermo, on Friday night, with a stunning ceremonial start. Thousands of spectators then follow the action all over the weekend, on spectacular stages that showcase both Sicily's spectacular mountains and its coastline.

The Halkidiki Rally has always been closely associated with this beautiful area of Macedonia, an ideal location for a rally where sport is very popular. This is a rally with a long history originating in the 70s, when many famous drivers from all over Europe and the Balkans competed against each other. Many Greek rally stars also made their name on its special stages. Since 2007 the rally has started with asphalt stages, before changing to gravel on day two. This makes Halkidiki the only European Championship event with such an exciting configuration. A ceremonial start is planned on Friday evening, followed by two legs comprising 12 special stages, six on asphalt (leg one) and six on gravel (leg two). The total length of the rally is approximately 700 kilometres, 260 kilometres of which are competitive. There is also a separate but parallel event for historic cars using just the first leg on asphalt. The Rally HQ and Service Park are based at the Porto Carras Grand Resort, located on the western coast of Sithonia - the middle prong of the Halkidiki Peninsula. With a coastline stretching for nine kilometres and more than 25 private beaches with deep blue waters, Porto Carras is the ideal location for enjoying the beauty of the sea and the countryside, with vineyards and pine trees stretching down to the beach.

The organiser of the Sata Rallye Azores, Grupo Desportivo Comercial, organized its first rally in 1961. Since then, this popular event has been always in gravel. In the 70s, the star names in international rallying started to come over and compete. Highlights of the entry lists included Sandro Munari and Alcide Paganeli; other drivers to come from abroad included Bob de Jong and Rafael Cid. It was not long before the reputation of the event and the island had grown considerably. Still the big names kept on coming: people like Fabrizio Tabaton,Yves Loubet, Piere Cesar Baroni and Luiz Monzon. Despite the fact that the islands are so small and remote, the organisers have always tried hard to be among the best. In recent years Gregoire De Mevius, Stig Blomqvist, Bruno Thiry, Alister McRae, Markko M䲴in, Thomas R䤳tr?Harri Rovemper䠡nd Juha Kankkunen have also graced the stages. These stars are the best ambassadors of the event, and are happy to vouch for its quality. Nonetheless, the Portuguese and local drivers are difficult to beat when they have the same machinery as the top stars - and they are even capable of victory amongst the very best in the sport. The event has plenty of support from the government, local councils, local authorities, private companies and other sponsors. Without them it would not be possible to organize a rally so far away, in the middle of the ocean.

The Safari Rally, which was first run in 1953, is one of the oldest and most prestigious motor sport events in Africa. It was also considered to be one of the toughest competitions in the world, pushing man and machinery to the limit. The event was originally well-known as an endurance classic, which lasted for the best part of a week and was run on open public roads. In recent years though the rally has moved with the times and consequently it is now much shorter, using closed private roads for safety reasons. The format of the event may have changed considerably, but the Safari's legendary spirit of adventure lives on. The route, run close to Kenya's colourful capital Nairobi, takes competitors over spectacular gravel stages that carve their way through the rolling Savannah. Wild animals such as giraffes and zebras look on, under the watchful eye of the local Masai Mara tribesmen. The road surfaces on the event vary considerably from fast and straight gravel tracks to slower sections with rocks and watersplashes. For years the Safari was part of the World Rally Championship, and it opened the inaugural Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2007. After a successful debut with the IRC last year, the Safari Rally is due to return to the series in 2009 .

Arctic Lapland Rally - the Adventure in the Arctic Circle ? will be organised for the 43rd time in 2008. Arctic Lapland Rally is driven traditionally on the last weekend in January and it gathers competitors both from Finland and abroad. Exotic Lapland, Arctic climate and the blue dimness of the Polar Nights are the things that make the difference for Arctic Lapland Rally compared with other rallies. This two-day rally is famous of its extremely long stages and the snow gives an extra thrill to this legendary event. Beside the competition Lapland offers lots of things to do and see ? who wouldn?t like to meet Santa Claus and his reindeers!