- Rally Deutschland

After an extended two-month break in World rally, Germany kickstarts the second half of the season and signals a brief return to asphalt roads. The rally is held in the wine-producing Mosel region, near to the historic city of Trier. This may be a pure asphalt event, but it has one of the widest varieties of sealed surfaces on the calendar. As such, it's a tricky event that demands the very best from drivers.

Trier is one of Gernany's oldest cities, but it has a young and lively population thanks to the famous university. Most of the town looks like something you'd expect to find on the lid of a Swiss chocolate box. There are lots of quaint half-timbered Hansel and Gretel-style houses, often painted in bright colours. There's loads of atmosphere, but, perhaps more importantly, there's lots of beer. Almost every other building appears to be a bar, serving steins of the superb local brews. It's not just beer that's supped by the locals, though, as the local Mosel wines are also superb.

The opening leg of the rally is held on narrow and dirty vineyard access roads that feature a mix of straights and hairpins, making handbrake skills essential. Saturday's leg is held on the rougher tank tracks of the Baumholder military ranges, with the notorious concrete hinklesteins. These are designed to stop tanks straying from the road, so any impact from a World Rally Car is bound to be spectacular. The final day features smooth, fast bitumen-coated roads similar to those used on the Rally Catalunya in southern Spain. All-in-all, a challenging mix