TEN years after contesting his first rally, Guy Wilks will begin the most exciting challenge of his career when he tackles the opening round of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), in Monte Carlo (January 19-23).

Monaco and the famous Alpine special stages above it are a long way from Croft Circuit, near Darlington, and the Jack Frost Stages Rally that saw an 18-year old local make his rally debut.

In the least powerful car in the field, Wilks held fourth place in his small 68bhp hatchback, before the snow and ice melted and the more powerful cars pushed him outside the top ten by the finish.

Wilks, a double British Rally Champion with vast international rally experience, will have around 200bhp more and one of rallying's most modern and desirable cars in the Skoda UK Motorsport Fabia Super 2000 in Monte Carlo, as he celebrates ten years in the sport.

This will be the fourth time Wilks has contested Rallye Monte Carlo - each time with co-driver Phil Pugh reading the pace notes. The three previous attempts at such a notorious specialised rally, plus an excellent pre-Christmas test in south-east France, have prepared Wilks well and he hopes to celebrate his 29th birthday on the final day of the rally by giving Skoda UK Motorsport a solid points-scoring start to the IRC.

"Rallye Monte Carlo is a very specialised event, and experience is a big help," he said. "The rally's not only a great sporting challenge, it's a big test of your mind.

"In the ever-changing road conditions, tyre choice is often a compromise and you have to control your emotions when you're on the wrong tyres and losing time.

"Only with experience can you be comfortable in that situation and be ready to regain the lost time, and more, on the next stage, when conditions favour your tyres.

"We had a very good test in the Skoda Fabia before Christmas near Grenoble. Twenty-five per cent of the mountain pass we used was dry Tarmac, and the rest was covered in ice and snow, so we were able to test all variants of tyre, from full slicks to studs.

"We were able to see exactly how much time was lost and gained running different tyres on different surfaces, and that's ideal preparation for Rallye Monte Carlo.

"On every surface, the Fabia S2000 is fantastic. The balance of the car is excellent and the engine is very strong; it's almost just a case of getting the damper settings right, putting on the tyres and driving it as fast as we can!

"Juho Hanninen led Monte Carlo last year in a Skoda Fabia S2000, and that shows how competitive the car can be on the event.

"I'm not thinking of victory in Monte Carlo, because with experience comes the knowledge that you don't win a championship on the opening round. It's more important get a good start to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and leave Monte Carlo with a secure haul of points.

"Winning Monte Carlo is a dream for any rally driver, but it's not the overall aim in 2010 for myself and Skoda UK Motorsport - although a podium finish would be nice!"

The official start of the 78th Rallye Monte Carlo takes place at 5pm (local time) on Tuesday, January 19 in the Champ de Mars in Valence, situated 65 miles (105kms) south of Lyon. From there, crews go directly to a 9km prologue stage, which will determine the starting order for the following day.

Leg 1 on Wednesday sees crews compete over the classic Burzet - Lachamp Raphael and St-Pierreville - Antraigues stages (both run twice) in the Ardeche, with stops to change tyres in Vals les Bains.

Leg 2 on Thursday sees three more stages run twice, with service in Valence.

Leg 3 begins early on Friday with the Montauban Sur l'Ouveze-Eygalayes stage. From there a 148 mile (239km) road section takes crews to Monte Carlo, for service and a short rest, before the final four stages of the event that evening - including two runs over the famous Col de Turini. After 15 special stages totalling 251.7 miles (405.1kms), Rallye Monte Carlo ends at 1.15am on Saturday, with the official prizegiving at 1pm the same day.

Eurosport will devote 14 hours of television time to this year's Rallye Monte Carlo, with much of the action broadcast live. Check TV listings for details.

Fans will also be able to follow Wilks' progress on Twitter (http://twitter.com/GuyWilks), Facebook and www.guywilks.com.