This almost century-long absence from the international motorsport scene will now finally be remedied, with St Petersburg hosting the start of Rally Russia, the fourth round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Pirelli Competizioni is participating in this significant event through its support of European champion Renato Travaglia, competing in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX Group N, and the official Honda Civic Type-Rs driven by Dani SolÀ and Luca Betti.

After leaving St. Petersburg, the rally stages were based in the Vyborg region near the Finnish border, about 140 km to the north of the city. The race was held on extremely fast, unsurfaced roads with lots of jumps.

Pirelli Competizioni also supported several private drivers over the two legs that were made up of 11 special stages and 151 competitive kilometres. The rally commenced in Isaakievskaya Square in the centre of St. Petersburg on July 13, and finished in the same place the following day.