 A notable omission was Urmo Aava who was scheduled to enter the event with his semi-works effort Citroën C4, but had to pull out only days before the event due to the ongoing economic problems.In another Citroën C4 was Frenchman Sébastien Ogier who was handed the drive as a reward for winning the JWRC category of the 2008 championship.The most newsworthy entry of all was that of 2008 Moto GP champion Valentino Rossi who was competing in a Ford Focus WRC complete with a Children in Need livery.