Driver:
Naren Kumar
Co-driver:
Nicky Beech
Driver Profiles
Toshi Arai The two-time P-WRC Champion returns to defend his 2007 title. He had 12 P-WRC victories to his credit at the start of the season and following the retirement of long-time co-driver Tony Sircombe, sees Chris Atkinson’s former co-driver Glenn Macneall join him for the season.
Co-driver: Glenn Macneall
Mirco Baldacci He started out in the J-WRC and started the P-WRC in 2006 when he finished 3rd in the Championship. His best result by the start of 2008 was 4th overall in Australia and following that his best P-WRC result was 2nd in Australia in 2006 and last year he clocked another podium in Greece.
Co-driver: Giovanni Agnese
Martin Prokop After finishing 3rd in the Juniors last year, Martin is tackling the P-WRC and the J-WRC again this season. He scored two Junior wins last year (Germany & Corsica) and is hoping for comparable P-WRC success. His passion after rallying is flying planes.
Co-driver: Jan Tomanek
Gianluca Linari Gianluca started rallying in 1980 but only had 2 WRC starts to his credit at the start of the season. He is an architect by profession and apart from rallying he likes fencing.
Co-driver: Roberto Mometti
Evgeny Novikov The youngest driver in the P-WRC. Evgeny has only been rallying since 2005, starting as his father’s co-driver. He was Russian Rally Cup Champion in 2006 and was runner-up in both the Russian and Estonian Rally Championships last year. He began the season with only one WRC start to his credit – GB ’07.
Co-driver: Evgeny Kalachev
Eyvind Brynildsen The Norwegian 20-year-old’s best result by the season start was 2nd in P-WRC in Norway last year and he finished 2nd in the Norwegian Championship in 2007. The experience of long-time WRC co-driver Giraudet should prove useful.
Co-driver: Denis Giraudet
Spyros Pavlides He began the year with only six WRC starts to his name and his best finish to date was 8th in Mexico 2007. He claims he would be a chef if he wasn’t a rally driver and the self-confessed technophobe’s idea of bliss is to be stranded on a desert island without a phone or email!
Co-driver: Denis Giraudet
Amjad Farrah Amjad started rallying in 1988 and he began this season with 5 WRC starts to his name. He is three-time Jordanian Rally Champion and has a string of hill climb victories in the Middle East to his credentials.
Co-driver: Nicola Arena
Stewart Taylor Stewart Taylor, 33, lives in Havelock North and has been a top-runner in the New Zealand Rally Championship for the past two years in a Mitsubishi.
Co-driver: Warwick Searle
Nasser Al-Attiyah Reigning and four-time Middle East Rally Champion, Nasser started season with the aim of regaining his 2006 P-WRC title. An all-round sportsman, the clay pigeon shooting Olympian will be competing for Qatar in the Beijing Olympics this year, as well as tackling selected rounds of the FIA Cross Country Rally Championship.
Co-driver: Chris Patterson
Ricardo Errani The P-WRC’s veteran driver started in motor sport in 1982. He is Italian born but lives in Monaco and claims he would like to have dinner with the Pope, given the chance!
Co-driver: Stefano Casadio
Stefano Marrini The 2000 Italian Rally Champion (for Group N cars) started rallying in 1996 and his best result to date was a fourth in Monte Carlo in 2006. Apart from rallying, he likes cycling, tennis and motocross.
Co-driver: Matteo Braga
Andreas Aigner The Red Bull backed Austrian’s best results to date are sixth overall in a Skoda Fabia WRC and more recently, 1st in Group N in Spain last year and 2nd in P-WRC standings in Greece. He’s contesting the P-WRC for the second time and is a car mechanic by occupation.
Co-driver: Klaus Wicha
Bernardo Sousa The Portuguese youngster started rallying in 2006 and he starts the season with only one WRC start under his belt (Portugal ’07). Apart from rallying, he likes sailing and scuba diving.
Co-driver: Carlos Magalhaes
Evgeniy Vertunov Evgeniy joined the Fiesta Sporting Trophy International in 2006 and graduated to P-WRC mid-way through 2007. He became Russian Rally Champion last year after a battle with Novikov who he meets again in the P-WRC this year. His best P-WRC result at the start of the season was 4th in Japan 2007.
Co-driver: Georgy Troshkin
Gabor Mayer Gabor came to the P-WRC with one WRC start under his best – GB 2007.
Co-driver: Robert Tagai
Cao Dong Liu 
Jussi Tiippana Two-time Southeast Finland Rallyspring Champion (2005 & 2006) and two-time winner of UNESS-rallysprint series, the second youngest P-WRC competitor likes floorball, the gym and jogging when he is not rallying.
Co-driver: Marko Salminen
Andrej Jereb Jari Ketomaa The two-time Finnish Rally Champion (2006 & 2007) had six WRC starts under his belt at the start of the season and his best result to date was 10th in Group N in Sweden (2002). He will be co-driven by Aki Teiskonen’s brother former co-driver, Miika.
Co-driver: Miika Tesikonen
Fabio Frisiero He started rallying in 1983 as a co-driver, then swapped to the other side of the car in 1998 to continue his career as a driver. This is his fifth P-WRC season and his best P-WRC result at the start of the season was 3rd in Sweden (2005).
Co-driver: Simone Scattolin
Evgeny Aksakov The 2003 Russian Rally Cup Champion had only one WRC start under his belt at the beginning of the season. He was 3rd in the Russian Rally Championship in 2006. If he wasn’t rallying the classical music lover would be a musician and he would most like a conversation with Robert de Niro!
Co-driver: Alexander Kornilov
Simone Campdelli The 2007 Italian Gravel Champion’s best results at the start of the season were 2nd in Group N in Sardinia and 4th in P-WRC in Ireland last year. He began the season with five WRC starts and if he wasn’t a rally driver he would be a football player.
Co-driver: Danilo Fappani
Armindo Araujo The four-time Portuguese Rally Champion is contesting the P-WRC for the second time. He has eight WRC starts under his belt and his best result was 4th in P-WRC in Sweden last year. His hero is Valentino Rossi and if he wasn’t a rally driver he would compete on motorbikes.
Co-driver: Miguel Ramalho
Subhan Aksa The 2007 Indonesian Rallysprint Champion started his career in drag racing but he only has two WRC starts to his name, the first of those being NZ 2007. His best result was 5th in the Malaysian round of the APRC last year. If he wasn’t a rally driver he would be a Greenpeace volunteer.
Co-driver: Hendrik Mboi
Juho Hanninen Entering the P-WRC for the second time, the 2004 Group N Finnish Champion finished 2nd in P-WRC in GB last year and clocked three Group N victories in 2006 (Sweden, Italy, GB). He claims he would like to be stranded on a desert island with Penelope Cruz and is the tallest driver in the P-WRC (189cm).
Co-driver: Mikko Markkula
Uwe Nittel Uwe was runner-up in the Production Cup in 1996, losing only 3 points to Gustavo Trelles and he scored two category wins the same year (Greece & Argentina). He was a works driver for Mitsubishi during 1997-98 and he returns to the P-WRC for the 2008 season.
Co-driver: Detlef Ruf
Travis Pastrana The young American two-wheel star became World Motocross Freestyle Champion by the age of 14 and this year the 5-time X Games gold medal winner and two-time Rally America Champion (2006 & 2007) begins his second P-WRC season with three WRC starts under his belt.
Co-driver: Derek Ringer
Ken Block Block was originally a skateboarder but he took to motocross and founded the highly successful apparel company DC Shoe Co. before starting rallying. He began the season with only two WRC starts to his name. Apart from rally he loves snowboarding.
Co-driver: Alessandro Gelsomino
Patrik Sandell The 2006 J-WRC Champion is contesting both the P-WRC and J-WRC this year. His best results to date are a Junior win in Finland last year, as well as victories in Sardinia and second in Sweden and Argentina in 2006. Apart from rallying he likes snowmobiling and skiing.
Co-driver: Emil Axelsson
Fumio Nutahara The seven-time Japanese Rally Champion comes from Hokkaido, home of Rally Japan. He was runner-up in the 2006 P-WRC and his best results last year were 5th in Sweden and NZ. Apart from rallying he likes hiking and traveling.
Co-driver: Daniel Barritt
Martin Rauam The three-time Estonian GpN Champion and 2006 Estonian Rally Champion begins the season with six WRC starts to his name, and his best P-WRC results last year were 8th in Argentina and NZ. He claims he would like to sail his own yacht in Bora Bora some day!
Co-driver: Kristo Kraag
Naren Kumar The six-time Indian National Rally Champion comes to the P-WRC as a rookie. He finished 10th in the recently concluded Acropolis Rally. His best recent results before the season start were 2nd and 3rd in Malaysia and New Caledonia rounds respectively of the APRC last year.
Co-driver: Nicholas Beech