Back on form Abarth is turning its attention to the next round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the Barum Rally Zlín, with Anton Alén set to rejoin Giandomenico Basso, fresh from his impress drive in Madeira, in a bid for victory

Markku Alén, the famous father of Abarth's Anton Alén, is well-known for having driven some of Italy's most powerful rally cars throughout his career but on the Madeira Rally recently he tried an Italian car that was considerably smaller

The Fiat PanDAKAR, which memorably tackled the Dakar Rally a year and a half ago, will be taking on the roughest terrain once again later this month as one of the tiny machines has been entered in the gruelling HunGarian Baja 2008

The undoubted star of today's final leg in Madeira was Giandomenico Basso, who won all of the Saturday stages apart from one as the Abarth fought back from an overnight fourth place to finish runner-up, just 5 secs behind the winner

Photo Gallery: Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Rd 5 - Rali Vinho da Madeira, Leg 2

Giandomenico Basso's bid to retain his Madeira Rally crown suffered a setback on the opening leg when a wrong tyre choice cost the Abarth factory driver the rally lead and sends him into today's final leg lying in fourth place

Photo Gallery: Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Rd 5 - Rali Vinho da Madeira, Leg 1

With the opening superspecial stage safely negotiated last night the challenge in Madeira by the Abarth factory drivers Giandomenico Basso and Umberto Scandola gets underway in earnest this morning in the mountains around Funchal

Italian driver Umberto Scandola, who has been drafted in at the last minute to replace the illness-hit Anton Alén in the factory Abarth squad, says he is ready for the challenge of competing on the IRC-counting Madeira Rally

Health problems for Anton Alén following the Rally of Russia that are yet to be resolved has forced Abarth to ask the organisers of the Rali Vinho da Madeira to allow the Italian factory team to replace the Finn with Umberto Scandola

Last year’s winner Giandomenico Basso will be the first driver off the starting ramp and leading out Abarth's charge for much needed Intercontinental Rally Challenge points when the Rali Vinho da Maderia gets underway next week

Luís Tedesco has won the Tijucas Rally, the fourth round of the Brazilian Rally Championship, and it is the fourth consecutive victory for the Fiat Rally Team official pilot in the N3 category which he comfortably leads with 40 points

Photo Gallery: Brazilian Rally Championship, Rd 4 - Tijucas Rally

Rally truck rookie Marco Dono continues to impress, after finishing in fifth place on his very first cross country race, the recent Central Europe Rally, he has just steered his Iveco Trakker to an outclassing victory in the tough Baja Spain

Photo Gallery: Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Rd 3 - Rally Russia (II)

Abarth returned to form on the Rally Russia, the fourth round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) which ended yesterday, with both factory drivers, Anton Alén and Giandomenico Basso, finishing on the podium

Photo Gallery: Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Rd 3 - Rally Russia (I)

Abarth will be fighting to repeat the sensational win last year by Anton Alén on the Rally Russia and get its Intercontinental Rally Challenge title aspirations back on track when the fourth round of the series gets underway in St. Petersburg

Abarth's Intercontinental Rally Challenge title bid suffered a major setback in Belgium at the weekend as Giandomenico Basso's sixth place made him the only runner in the Italian S2000 machine to finish in the points paying positions

Photo Gallery: Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Rd 3 - Belgium Ypres Rally

During the tough 436 km special stage through the Gobi desert from Danahu to Liuyan, Gerard de Rooy in the Iveco-powered Ginaf truck was forced to withdraw from the lead of the Trans Orientale Rally, bringing to an end a superb effort

The shakedown for the Ypres Rally gets underway this evening with crews having the chance to drive the shakedown road near Nieuwkerke until 23:00 local time and with the Abarth factory team gearing up in their challenge for rally victory

Iveco-power is keeping Gerald de Rooy's Ginaf truck firmly in the lead as the Dutchman steers clear of all the drama hitting the 10,000 kilometre long Trans Orientale adventure which has reached the half way point as it enters China

After collecting his third stage victory out of six stages yesterday, Gerald de Rooy in the Iveco Cursor 13-powered Ginaf truck has now taken the overall lead in the truck category of the Trans Orientale Rally, ahead of much fancied factory opposition

Gerard de Rooy in the Iveco Cursor 13-powered Ginaf truck has bounced back after the turnoil of the second and third stages to win yesterday's fourth test and keep himself in contention as the Trans Orientale now heads through the Urals