The entry list for the forthcoming 52nd Rallye International du Valais has been published. The outcome of the 2011 FIA European Rally Championship will take place after the finish of the Swiss round. The two drivers in contention for the European title, the Italians Luca Rossetti (Abarth Grande Punto S2000) and Luca Betti (Peugeot 207 S2000), will take part in the event.

With the current points' allocation system, both can title. In addition to the usual scale, similar to that in use in other major championships (25, 18, 15, 12, etc.), bonus points are up to grab for each leg (7, 5, 3, 2, 1). The maximum points available in Switzerland are 46. Furthermore, the calendar is divided in two parts and each driver can only score his four best results in each of the two halves of the season.

Current leader Rossetti will not discard any result. As for Betti, who lies 30 points adrift of his fellow countryman, the task will be a little more arduous since he must do much better than his rival in Wallis and will have to deduct the 12 points scored in the Czech Republic.

Fighting hard for the third place of the Old Continent series, Czech Antonin Tlust'ák (Skoda Fabia S2000) and Pole Maciej Oleksowicz (Ford Fiesta S2000) will also be part of the event.

Another rally star, habitué of the World Rally Championship in the Production category, will also mingle in the debates, Portuguese Bernardo Sousa (Peugeot 207 S2000).

The situation in the Swiss Rally Championship is quite similar with 26 points separating the first two drivers. Leader Ivan Ballinari (Peugeot 207 S2000) will have to discard his worth result of the season, unlike Laurent Reuche (Peugeot 207 S2000) who can still beat him on the post. Both will be serious contenders for the final victory.

Three more S2000 cars complete this exciting field, bringing their total to 10: the Peugeot 207s of Nicolas Althaus and former ski champion Philippe Roux, as well as the Abarth Grande Punto of Laurent Luyet.

Eight-time winner of the Rallye International du Valais, Olivier Burri will drive a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X entered in class 3 (the former group N4). He will face strong opposition from Florian Gonon (Subaru Impreza), Rüdi Schmidlin (Mitsubishi Evolution VIII) and Jean-Philippe Radoux (Mitsubishi Evolution IX), among others.

Olivier's son, Michael Burri will be at the wheel of his usual Citroën DS3 R3 with which he took the class victory in Germany and in France. In that same class 5, Burri Jr. will pit himself against Slovenia Rok Turk (Peugeot 207 R3T), who leads the 2 wheel drive category of the European Championship, but also very experienced drivers such as Olivier Gillet, Sébastien Carron (Renault Clio) and Antonio Galli (Citroën DS3).

For more information about the Rallye International du Valais, please consult the official event's website at http://riv.ch/en/