Cypriots take their motor sport very seriously – specifically rallying and variants of rallying.  I guess driving Cyprus’ roads on a day-by-day basis is a great training ground.

Cyprus has international rallies including a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) and a number of local events.  All the events are organised by the Cyprus Automobile Association (CAA), and great fun they are. 

Today was another day out following the progress of the Troodos Rally in Cyprus. 

I was up and out early and went to Argaka - normally a quiet village on the beach north of Polis.

Today and tomorrow it's the 2009 Troodos Rally in Cyprus. 

It's a round of the Middle East Rally Championship. 

Despite that the majority of the entrants were local Cypriots and that all added up to a lot of fun.

Day three of the FxPro Cyprus Rally 2009 didn't start well. 

The previous evening we'd gone out for dinner.  And then to a club.  For just a couple of drinks, honest. 

When the alarm went off at 6.30am, somehow it got switched off, and I didn't wake again until 8.30am...

Day two of the Cyprus Rally, and I was heading back up into the hills near Agios Nikolaos to see Special Stage 8 (Pano Panagia) of the FxPro Cyprus Rally 2009. 

As I hustled my lumbering Nissan Navara up the winding roads, the sun kept popping in and out.  But unfortunately, more in than out.

I'd been looking forward to this one for ages.  I'm no motor sport fan in particular, but a round of the World Rally Championship being held in Cyprus was too good to miss.

We had a couple of outings up into the hills before the rally to suss out suitable locations.  Whilst the high Troodos would probably be the most exciting, the Special Stages in Paphos Forest and the lower Troodos are a whole lot more accessible.