Is it just me, or has there been a flood of optimism in rallying over the winter? No, it’s not just me, and yes there has.

The new season kicks off this week with the mighty Monte Carlo Rally. It’s the first round of this year’s IRC (Intercontinental Rally Challenge), which is perhaps the only disappointment – because it’s run by Eurosport Events series, thus broadcast only on Eurosport. They’re broadcasting the hell out of it though, so you can’t knock them.

And there are plenty of stories to compensate for that. One of the headlines is that Formula 1 regular Robert Kubica will be competing, in a Renault Clio R3. He’s done two rallies recently, the first of which he crashed in. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how he gets on.

Another one to keep a close eye on will be a certain Mikko Hirvonen, who will be driving the new Ford Fiesta. That follows M-Sport – which run Ford’s WRC team, and developed the Fiesta – signing up as a manufacturer for the IRC.

Obviously Hirvonen will be back to his Ford Focus after this weekend’s outing, but it’s representative of the health of rallying that the IRC now has eight manufacturers on board to varying degrees.

Then there are the regular IRC drivers, including Brits Guy Wilks and Kris Meeke, the current IRC champion, and other familiar names such as Toni Gardemeister.

All in all, there’s a lot to watch. So it’s a shame that it won’t get much mainstream attention, being (a) a rally and (b) not even part of the WRC. Just ask Maurice Hamilton.

There’s loads to look forward to in the WRC too, which gets going in Sweden next month. But let’s leave that until closer to the time.