Rallying is one of the most accessible forms of sport in the world. Not only do fans get closer to the action than in just about any other event -- too close in some cases -- they can drive cars that are as close to real rally cars as possible and can literally follow in their heroes' tire tracks, driving the same roads used as rally stages all over the world. And, now, five of the greatest names in World Rally Championship (WRC) history have come together to make a DVD that will feature some of the world's best roads that double as rally stages.

It's all in the name of raising money for Vision, the Colin McRae charity that was set up after the former WRC champion's tragic death in 2007.

Twice world champion Marcus Gronholm has chosen his home turf and one of the most famous --or infamous -- stages in the history of WRC.

Finland's Ouninpohja is the fastest rally stage of all time, so much so that it was removed from the rally calendar for being too dangerous.

"You can come here in a road car and have the same feeling as a rally car -- no problem," Gronholm says. "It just won't be at the same speed as we do it in the rally. Ouninpohja is so difficult. It can be dangerous sometimes, as well. My passion for it is because it's a little bit dangerous. You're not confident because it's so fast. It took me many years to learn the stage. It's so similar with its corners and jumps."

Ouninpohja is one of the best roads to drive. Not only is it stunning, it's all but deserted. Each time we drove it, we saw no more than one car in each direction.

It was the same story with fellow Finn Mikko Hirvonen. The lead driver of the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team has chosen an equally quiet and stunning stage -- this time in the U. K. As he powers his Focus Zetec-S along Great Orme in Wales, even the wet and windswept weather cannot shift the grin from his face.

"It's been a while since I last drove this road--and that was flat out under competition conditions," Hirvonen says. "Now I can actually take in the fantastic scenery around me and really enjoy the car, the road and the drive."

The road that follows the jutting Great Orme peninsula is a sinewy serpentine stretch punctuated with blind crests, tightening corners and challenging cambers. Drive up this cliff-hugging route and there's nothing but a small rock wall to separate you from the churning sea hundreds of feet below. It's a six-kilometre, white-knuckle ride where the slightest misjudgment could end in disaster.

Relaxed and languid behind the wheel, Hirvonen provides a running commentary. His eyes pick up numerous points -- a slight narrowing in the road, the pool of sitting water, a repaired patch of road that might be more slippery than expected and an off-camber corner -- and his brain instantly processes the information to keep the Focus flowing along the road with smooth and precise inputs. It's masterful driving.

Even higher above sea level is our next destination. High in the Alps behind Monte Carlo, the Col de Turini is a 1,607-metre peak dotted with two small guest houses and a pair of ski lifts to serve the French and Italian skiers who descend upon this tranquil spot as soon as the snow falls.

For the rest of the year, the place is a backwater, connected to the rest of the world by a trio of narrow, winding ribbons of tarmac that converge at the Col's summit. Here, passing traffic is limited to the odd lost tourist and the comings and goings of the handful of local residents.

That is until the Monte Carlo rally comes to town. The special stage held at Turini is the most legendary of all on the WRC calendar. High praise, but when one road packs many hairpins, more sheer drops and jagged rock faces along its route than the closing sequence of The Italian Job and when rally drivers must contend with snow and ice across the summit and dry roads at the base, all without a tire change between the two, you can see why the words "legendary" and "Turini" make such comfortable bedfellows.

"The Col" is flying Finn Ari Vatanen's favourite road of all time and going back there is something he clearly relishes.

"You cannot remain indifferent to this place," he explains, inhaling deeply as if to better take in his surroundings. "Col de Turini has a magic because it is so difficult. As a rally driver, it gives you a lesson in humility. You don't rule it, and [you]must remember that before every race."

Driving the route toward Moulinet from the summit with Vatanen, it becomes clear what he means. It is flanked alternately by battle-scarred rock faces or sheer drops several hundred feet to the valley floor below for much of its length, and it twists and turns like no road I've ever seen. As a tourist, it's a pleasure to drift down the route's playfully sinuous path, taking in the heady views as the sun beats down, but to race in winter, in the dark, coated with snow and layered with ice, it's easy to see how Turini could become a terrifying beast, swift to wreak painful vengeance for the smallest mistake.

Even if the stages aren't as dangerous as Col de Turini or if the driver is driving faultlessly, one can still come a cropper. As we power through the pillowed hills of southern Tuscany with dust billowing in our wake, Miki Biasion is recalling the night when a wild boar charged out of the undergrowth to meet its end under his wheels.

"It was right on this bend," he says, as the cappuccinocoloured crenellations of hilltop Sant Angelo in Colle come into view, beyond slopes swept with vineyards. "Next day, the farmers who live in that house over there roasted the boar and all the rally drivers and mechanics had a fantastic meal with a lot of wine. On what other rally stage would the local people turn an unfortunate accident into a fantastic festeggiamento?"

It is a curious truth that although driving fast cars has a place in the Italian national psyche alongside fashion, food and amorous adventure, the country has spawned pretty meagre bragging rights when it comes to world-beating drivers. In fact, Miki Biasion is the country's only champion of motorsport in the last half century.

Biasion took the World Rally Championship in 1988 and again in 1989, the year he became the first driver in history to claim three consecutive Rally Sanremo titles.

This corner of Tuscany, a hour's drive south of Siena, feels far-flung and forgotten. When my eyes are not on the track or on Biasion's hands as they expertly thread the steering wheel, they rove over scenery painted from a bewitchingly beautiful palette. The rolling hills are planted with sunflowers, glossy citrus groves, silvery olive trees and neat rows of vines streaming like tresses of green hair.

"For many years, I tested and developed rally cars on the roads around Montalcino with Tiziano Siviero, my co-driver. We became good friends with all the local farmers and one of them sold us a small piece of vineyard, so you could say that we are small-time producers."

The fifth driver to take part in the project feels equally passionate about his road of choice. Jimmy McRae has been rallying in Ireland for more years than he cares to remember, and this sweeping, snaking route around the ravishing Lough Mill is perfect rallying territory.

When Sebastien Loeb, current WRC world champion attacks this slow road to Sligo, his speedometer soars beyond the 160-kilometres-an-hour mark. Today, though, McRae, himself a five-times British Rally champion, is taking in the sights.

"It is so beautiful out here," he says. "I have been rallying in Ireland for 40 years and I never tire of the place. Of course, when you are rallying, you don't have time to admire the sights. But an ordinary motorist can have the best of both worlds on a rally stage that is a public road, like this one. Easy on the throttle and enjoy the view --it is beautiful. "

This road is not benign, not even for a double world champion, and it is exciting. During the Rally of Ireland, the R286 is transformed from rural through road to grand theatre, applauded by some of the most fervent fans anywhere in the world.

"The welcome in Ireland is always warm," McRae says. "But rallying here is something special. It is not just a road like this, with all its challenges among lovely scenery, but the fans absolutely love it. It becomes one of the most enchanting places in world rallying."