Orhan Avcioglu said he expects serious competition from Plamen Staykov and Romanian driver Dan Girtofan. "I want to thank everyone here who has welcomed us and helped us so much since Tuesday Rally "Sliven" is a very difficult rally, but I am familiar with the stages as I came here as a spectator twice before. Rally "Sliven"is a key to the development of the Balkan Rally Trophy and we will do our best to win "- said Avcioglu.

His co-driver, Burchin Korkmaz, said that the "Mallova Gora" and "Kotel" stages, are very fast, difficult and slippery, and they will be crucial for the development of the competition.

For Plamen Staykov the configuration of the Sliven Rally is very challenging and difficult. "My impression is that the stages are very difficult to create pacenotes, because they are very different in their own way, and I'm not sure that I will be able to compete with my rivals with R5 vehicles because they are very fast, we will see where we are after the first loop, "said last year's winner of the Rally Sliven.

For the leaders in Bulgarian rally championship Stratiev and Borisov, rally "Sliven" is of the utmost importance to keep their position. "We will give our best, considering that we can be very close to the leading 4x4 crews, especially in the fast stages like Kotel and the downhill of special stage "Tchukata"- said Tihomir Stratiev at the press conference.