Race cars and teams from around the world are in Coffs Harbour this week for the Australian leg of the World Rally Championship (WRC).

There is a buzz in Coffs ahead of Thursday's start to the four-day race.

It will be in stages on public and forest roads around Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Nambucca and there are special night stages along the Coffs Harbour waterfront.

France's Sebastian Loeb driving for team Citro is competing for an eighth straight WRC.

Drivers will do race route reconnaissance in normal cars, driving at legal speeds tomorrow and Wednesday, before the WRC 'Shakedown', a non-competitive circuit on Thursday morning.

The rally proper will have its official start in the Coffs CBD at 4:30pm (AEST) on Thursday.

There will be a special police operation on the Coffs coast for the event.

Coffs-Clarence local area commander Mark Holahan says the race is expected to attract tens of thousands of motor racing fans.

Superintendent Holahan says during Operation Lexington there will be a high profile police presence at race venues, on the Pacific Highway and local roads.

"Our strategy for the World Rally Championship is to make sure that all the venues are safe and secure and that people can go to those venues and have a good time," he said.

"I'm genuinely excited about this event, I think it gives the Coffs coast a tremendous opportunity to showcase itself to the world and we want to make sure that that happens but look if you want to drive like a lunatic, you can expect to be treated according to the law."

Superintendent Holahan says the operation will include licensing police, the dog squad and highway patrol.

He says the focus will be road safety and antisocial and criminal behaviour.

"Sometimes some people like to think they're the rally drivers and they like to try and prove their own skills away from the event," he said.

"My message to those people is quite clear, you will be caught.

"We're bringing additional highway patrol police in specifically for that, so look, behave yourself and you'll have a good time."