Rwanda Automobile Club (RAC) is expecting a mammoth entry of drivers for Rallye du Nord; the opening round of the National Rally Championship (NRC) set for March 14 in the Northern Province.

"We expect all the drivers who will challenge for the title to come and try to score points which will be important for the title run,” a RAC official said.

One driver, who is certainly looking forward to this race is Olivier Costa, who has found new fame after finishing third in the Kobil Rally of Tanzania; the opening round of the 2009 African Rally Championship (ARC).

Costa recently told Times Sport that this event will help him get used to his newly acquired state-of-the-art Subaru Impreza N11.

"It’s still a new car to me so it’s a great opportunity for me to get used to it ahead of next month’s KCB Safari rally in Kenya,” he said.

The Rwandan driver, currently third on the ARC charts with six points is keen to compete in Kenya.

Other drivers in the fray include national champion Davite Giancarlo (Subaru Impreza), Tony Saegerman (Subaru Impreza), Elefter Mitraros (Subaru Impreza), Claude Kwizera (Peugeot), Cristakis Fitidis (Mitsubishi) and Johnny Murengezi (Mitsubishi) amongst others.

Giancarlo rose to the limelight last year when he recorded two podium finishes en route winning his maiden national championship.

The title was timely for the Italian-born driver, who had spent seven years as a bridesmaid (in the shadows) of Rudy Cantanhede (2007 & 2006), Elefter Mitraros (2005) and Tony Saegerman (2004) among others.

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