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2006 WRC: RALLY ACROPOLIS

• Rally 8 of 16: June 2-4, 2006, Rally of Greece
• 18 special stages
• 355.62 km competition

RALLY RESULT

• 1. MARCUS GRONHOLM (FIN) FORD 3:56:26.8
  2. SEBASTIEN LOEB (FRA) CITROEN +2:26.8
  3. MIKKO HIRVONEN (FIN) FORD +3:43.8
  4. TONI GARDEMEISTER (FIN) CITROEN +4:20.8
  5. HENNING SOLBERG (NOR) PEUGEOT +4:55.6
  6. DANI SORDO (SPA) CITROEN +4:56.4
  7. PETTER SOLBERG (NOR) SUBARU +5:34.4
  8. XEVI PONS (SPA) CITROEN +8:19.0
  9. JUSSI VALIMAKI (FIN) MITSUBISHI +11:28.7
  10. MATTHEW WILSON (UK) FORD +13:30.8

FORD RALLY REPORT

• BP-Ford World Rally Team won its third rally of the season today when Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen took an emphatic victory on the gruelling Acropolis Rally of Greece. Their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car led for almost the entire four-day event, excelling in the toughest conditions experienced in the FIA World Rally Championship for many years. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen secured a second straight podium with third in a similar Focus RS. It was the fifth
  victory for the Focus in Greece in seven years on a rally that is acknowledged as the toughest in the calendar. It was Grönholm's 21st world rally success and strengthens his grip on second in the drivers' standings while Hirvonen's podium promoted him to fourth. BP-Ford remains second in the manufacturers' championship.
• Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "It's great to experience the winning feeling again," said Grönholm. "We have been on the pace all year but had some bad luck, but now we are back on the top step of the podium. It's satisfying to win such a tough rally. The Focus was strong and fast all the way through and that was down to the hard work during our test. It was terribly rough and I could never drive with total confidence because I knew how easy it was to damage the car on the
  rocks. "BFGoodrich's tyres were strong on such a demanding rally and when we had a puncture the mousse worked perfectly. I could not believe that the tyres withstood the impact from some rocks. The Focus has huge potential and I hope we can show that more over the next few rallies. I
  think we can push for victory everywhere during the second half of the season," he added.
• Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: Hirvonen established himself in fourth on the opening morning and climbed to third yesterday. With no pressure from his rivals, he cruised through the final leg. The 25-year-old Finn survived a scare when a broken centre differential meant he had to tackle the final test in second gear. "That's two podiums in a row and that is where I should be," said Hirvonen. "I hope my first win is not too far away. I saw on Friday that I could not match Marcus' pace so I just watched the split times in the stages and drove accordingly. I avoided problems all weekend and the team has done a fantastic job. It was really difficult today because it was too rough and not nice to
  drive as I was just trying to avoid the rocks. I'm really confident now for the rest of the season. My car is reliable and strong and I hope we can deliver more podiums."

CITROEN RALLY REPORT

• At the end of the rough and rocky stages, Kronos Racing finishes once more with all three Citroen Xsaras in the points. Thanks to Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena, who finished second, and Xevi Pons/Carlos Del Barrio, who were eighth the Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team will spend the
  two-month summer break leading both the drivers and manufacturers championships. Having swept the road clean at the start of the rally, Seb dropped 35 seconds on Friday. With a better set-up for the conditions he took second place and reduced the gap to the leader to 25 seconds, before a puncture on Saturday evening obliged him to call a ceasefire and settle for the eight points that came with second place.
• Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "It was a difficult rally concluded the World Championship leader. "What with sweeping the road clean, getting a puncture and a tricky journey back to service, I'm very happy to come away with eight points for second place. Once more, I take my hat off to the entire Kronos team for putting my Xsara back into shape on Saturday night. Marcus was very quick, but nonetheless we managed to get some time back off him on Saturday. From Germany onwards, I know he'll be right there. It will be a very close fight, as always, but those tight battles with him are always the best ones."
• Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: Xevi Pons will probably be able to challenge for the world puncture record, having collected them throughout the event. Thankfully he was prevented from losing too much time by BFGoodrich's anti-deflation mousse, which holds up the tyre if any air escapes. "I can't hide the fact that I am personally a bit disappointed said Xevi openly. I expected to be a bit quicker on this terrain that we were all discovering for the first time. As well as that - or perhaps because of that - I didn't really enjoy myself here. It's not nice to hear the car taking all those impacts, to be constantly on edge and not to be able to drive in a relaxed way. Luckily I succeeded in my main objective, which was to bring some manufacturer points to the team. "

LEG 2 RESULT, JUNE 3, 2006

• 1 GRÖNHOLM, FORD
  2 LOEB, CITROEN, +1m 47s
  3 HIRVONEN, FORD, +2m 59s
  4 SORDO, CITROEN
  5 STOHL, PEUGEOT
  6 H SOLBERG, PEUGEOT
  7 GARDEMEISTER, CITROEN
  8 PONS, CITROEN
  9 P SOLBERG, SUBARU
  10 VALIMAKI, MITSUBISHI
  11 Wilson 12 Rovanpera 13 Katajamaki 14 Atkinson 15 Aigner 16 Duval
• AFTER LEG 2, GRONHOLM: "This is the toughest Acropolis for six years and I cannot feel comfortable yet. In these conditions, whatever the size of the lead, it is not enough. Rocks have been banging the underneath of the car everywhere and I've been pushing hard but the Focus has stood up to everything that has been thrown at it. It's incredible. I carried two spare wheels this afternoon, which was a good decision as I had two punctures."

FORD LEG 2 REPORT  (TOP OF PAGE)

• Gronholm extends Ford's lead as Acropolis takes fearsome toll
• BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen extended their lead of the Acropolis Rally of Greece today as the rocky gravel roads in the hills surrounding Athens wrecked the hopes of many competitors. Their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car returned to the Greek capital this evening after a gruelling second leg with a 1min 47.2sec advantage, with team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen lying third in a similar car.
• This eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship is regarded as the toughest event in the calendar. Boulder-strewn tracks and blistering heat ensured that merely surviving this afternoon's speed tests proved too much for many, but the Focus RS cars excelled in the arduous conditions in the Corinth hills, west of Athens.
• Drivers tackled two identical loops of three special stages, split by service in the city's Olympic Stadium. BP-Ford strengthened the protection under the Focus RS cars last night in preparation for today's action. Roads that were already rough on this morning's first pass, were hostile during the second run this afternoon and few escaped some sort of misery during the 134.68km of competition.
• Gronholm, started with a 26.3sec lead, and won two of the morning's three stages to increase that to 29.2sec. He was fastest on the same tests again this afternoon, taking his tally of victories to 10 from 13 stages, and stretched his lead as closest rival Sebastien Loeb limped through the final few kilometres after a rear tyre punctured.
• "Things look good tonight and I hope tomorrow will go as well as the last two days," said 38-year-old Gronholm. "This is the toughest Acropolis for six years and I cannot feel comfortable yet. In these conditions, whatever the size of the lead, it is not enough. Rocks have been banging the underneath of the car everywhere and I've been pushing hard but the Focus has stood up to everything that has been thrown at it. It's incredible. I carried two spare wheels this afternoon, which was a good decision as I had two punctures.
• "We have already driven tomorrow's stages twice so they will be even rougher. They aren't nice roads and they could be car killers. I need to find a good pace and keep my concentration but I'm not in a hurry or a panic and I hope I can take things a little easier and avoid the rocks," he added.
• Hirvonen concentrated on consolidating fourth position. He took no risks and a string of consistent times enabled the 25-year-old Finn to pull clear of his rivals, climbing to third when Loeb hit trouble. "My aim is to hold position and gain points for BP-Ford," he said. "I have no need to push hard because our position is safe as long as we have no troubles. I'm in no rush and I just want to take it steady and bring the car home safely. It's unbelievable the punishment this car can take because it was so rough this afternoon. I have never seen rocks like it on a special stage.
• "The team has done a fantastic job with the car after our test last week. Ford has always been strong in Greece and the car has been incredibly reliable so far. Tomorrow will be as hard as today has been and I think there will be some surprises. It will be rocky everywhere and the time advantage that I have will mean nothing if I collect a puncture," he added.
• BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson was delighted by the 'fantastic' performance of Gronholm and Hirvonen. "They have both driven superbly. What we have experienced today are probably the hardest conditions we have seen in the championship for some years and the Focus coped with them remarkably. I'm confident the team can reproduce the same kind of display tomorrow," he said.
• News from our Rivals
• Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) won two stages but when a rear tyre punctured 1km after the start of the final stage, he dropped 1min 20sec dragging his car through the remaining 16km on its suspension. Hard luck story of the day concerned Petter Solberg (Subaru). The Norwegian lost second this morning after spinning and then the gearchange paddle mounted on the steering wheel broke this afternoon. Finally on the liaison section to the final stage the Norwegian had to swerve to avoid an oncoming car on the same side of the road. He hit a rock and the impact broke his car's steering, leaving him stranded. Dani Sordo and Toni Gardemeister (both Citroen) and Manfred Stohl and Henning Solberg (both Peugeot) enjoyed a terrific four-way fight for fourth. The quartet were covered by a handful of seconds and swapped positions on every stage. Sordo eventually claimed fourth from Solberg, who incurred a 20 second penalty after a brake problem this morning. Less than 18 seconds cover the four drivers. Francois Duval (Skoda) and Kosti Katajamaki (Ford) both retired with a broken gearbox while Chris Atkinson (Subaru) stopped on the final stage with broken steering. Thirty-three of the day's 79 starters failed to complete the leg.

CITROEN LEG 2 REPORT  (TOP OF PAGE)

• The road to hell...
• By getting the better of Petter Solberg in the morning loop of stages, Sebastien Loeb, Daniel Elena, and their Citroen Xsara WRC had climbed to second place overall. A sustained attack during the afternoon loop of stages closed them to within 25 seconds of Marcus Grönholm by the end of SS12. Then came Psatha 2 " special stage 13 " pointed out a superstitious Daniel Elena and the start of an odyssey that will remain in the minds of the Kronos Total Citroen team for many years to come.
• "From the start of that loop, and especially in Kineta, the cars and the tyres really went through hell " said Seb and Daniel. " A kilometre and a half after the start of Psatha, we picked up a left-rear puncture which the mousse could not prevent. We took the decision to carry on, and it was the right one as we lost less time than we would have done had we stopped to change the wheel. On the other hand, it proved impossible to put on a new wheel after the stage as the suspension was too badly damaged. We continued on like that for a while before stopping to change the right-rear wheel, which had picked up a puncture as well. The problem was that the spare wheel was already on the limit of its mousse, so it just had to hold on for as long as it could. Finally we arrived at service on time, on only two front wheels and a hub... "
• Phase two of the adventure was played out in front of an admiring crowd, as the Kronos mechanics attempted to repair the Xsara in the 45 minutes allowed as well as finishing the bodywork. The work included replacing all the under car protection, the wing liners, the gearbox, rear beam, transmission, exhaust...and so on. Two minutes before the deadline, the car's horn sounded : a signal for Seb to drive away as the crowd warmly applauded the technical team's efforts.
• " My heart was in my mouth " admitted Kronos team principal Marc Van Dalen. " For anybody who loves rallies, moments like these are unforgettable. It's in these very difficult circumstances that you see people's true worth. I mean Seb and Daniel, who managed to bring the car back, and all our boys who did such an excellent job. I'm proud of all of them ! "
• Just like Seb and Daniel, the other Kronos Racing drivers heaped constant praise on the anti-deflation mousse in each BFGoodrich tyre, allowing them to keep going even when the searing rocks had pummelled the air out of the rubber. Xevi Pons and Carlos Del Barrio, who finish the day eighth, started the final stage of leg two with both rear tyres held up by the mousse. Xevi said : " The second run through the stages was horrible. The surface was totally destroyed. I adapted my pace to this minefield, but I still wonder how we got through it without doing more damage. "
• Dani Sordo and Marc Marti were embroiled in a four-way fight with Toni Gardemeister, Manfred Stohl and Henning Solberg. The Spanish duo passed all their rivals thanks to some excellent times over `the road to hell' and they end the leg in fourth. " I don't have much experience, but I can say that this rally is the toughest one on cars and drivers that I have known " commented Dani. " And tomorrow is apparently going to be even worse ! "

SUBARU LEG 2 REPORT  (TOP OF PAGE)

• Today's second Leg of the Acropolis Rally of Greece started well for the Subaru World Rally Team. Petter Solberg set a string of top three times as he fought with Sebastien Loeb for second place, while Chris Atkinson was among the four fastest drivers on each of the morning's stages. But both drivers hit trouble in the afternoon. Atkinson retired on the last stage after damaging a steering arm, while Solberg was forced into a rock wall as he avoided an oncoming car on the road section to the same stage. Both cars areexpected to re-start for tomorrow's final Leg.
• SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM SPORTING DIRECTOR, LUIS MOYA:"To see our battle at the top of the leaderboard end in such a way is unbelievable. The work that all the team has put into the car, the tyres and the performancedid not deserve to see Petter's challenge end in such a freak way avoiding a road accident and hitting a rock face. Chris too put in a strong performance earlier today, however Greece is a very tough rally and he has found it unforgiving."
• PETTER SOLBERG:"It's just incredible what happened. I came around a tight right hander and was forced to swerve to avoid an accident with a car comingthe other way, hitting the rock face and breaking the steering arm. What with Sebastien's problems it's just so frustrating, but that is mine and Phil's luck all year. We'll have to see what happens from here as the plan is to get the car back and re-start tomorrow."
• CHRIS ATKINSON:"We had a good start to the morning and set some good stage times. Then this afternoon the steering arm wasdamaged in the long rough stage. But we lost time with that then made some repairs and hoped to get through to the end of the final stage. It later failed and unfortunately we dropped five minutes and are now entering super rally."

LEG 1 RESULT, JUNE 2, 2006

• 1 GRÖNHOLM, FORD
  2 SOLBERG, SUBARU, +26.3
  3 LOEB, CITROEN, +35.5
  4 HIRVONEN, FORD, 01:21:01.6, +01:15.9
  5 DUVAL, SKODA, 01:21:15.1, +01:29.4
  6 STOHL, PEUGEOT, 01:21:23.8, +01:38.1
  7 SOLBERG, PEUGEOT, 01:21:25.5, +01:39.8
  8 GARDEMEISTER, CITROEN, 01:21:27.8, +01:42.1
  17 ATKINSON, SUBARU, 01:24:44.5, +04:58.8

FORD LEG 1 REPORT  (TOP OF PAGE)

• BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen lead the Acropolis Rally of Greece after dominating today's opening leg in the hills around Athens. The Finns won all six speed tests in their Ford Focus
  RS World Rally Car to build a 26.3 second advantage at the head of this eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are fourth in a similar Focus RS.
• Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "I won every stage and it doesn't get much better than that. The car is fantastic and I have the tool to beat Solberg and Loeb - and that's a good feeling. I made a good start this morning but I knew that I had to build on that. I was leading by 40sec after the first morning on the last rally in Sardinia. But by Saturday night I was at home watching Finland win the Eurovision Song Contest on television, so that's
  how quickly things can change."
• Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "Fourth is a good position and tomorrow I must concentrate on keeping the car on the road and avoiding the rocks. I made some changes to the suspension settings at lunchtime and they worked well this afternoon. Conditions were better than I expected this morning but they were rougher this afternoon and tomorrow's leg will be rougher still. This morning I was driving in 'safe' mode, the kind of pace I used in Sardinia, so I pushed harder to try to increase my advantage over the cars behind."

CITROEN LEG 1 REPORT  (TOP OF PAGE)

• Despite suffering from the handicap of being roadsweepers for everyone else, Sebastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Kronos-run Citroen Xsara WRC fought at the sharp end of the action throughout the opening leg. The reigning World Champions have Petter Solberg and Marcus Gronholm as their targets, which promises a thrilling three-way battle tomorrow.
• Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "I'm not at all unhappy though. For thefirst time this season, we're going to get the fight between three drivers and cars that we've all been waiting for. It's pretty exciting. On the other
  hand, I can't get away from the fact that I'm not where I would ideally like to be. During the first loop of stages, I knew that I would be sweeping the road clean and dropping time. But I expected a bit more from the second loop.
  It's not through lack of trying ! I didn't go for the new BFGoodrich H2 tyres, but equally my tyre choice seemed good. I gave it everything I could - and I wasn't alone in that . Tomorrow, I've got an excellent sparring partner in
  Petter. Trying to get past him will be the best way to get me closer to Marcus . In any case, I'm going to keep putting on pressure"
• Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: "We picked up two punctures, on SS3 and SS7, but the mousse worked well and we didn't really have to slow down. We also had a stall on SS7, which cost a few seconds. During the recce, I really liked Skourta [SS3/6] and I was convinced that we could do something special there - but that didn't happen. Everything's open for tomorrow though, and we are 25 seconds away from fifth place. Given that there's so much road still ahead of us, it's not a huge margin. We can still do the job here. "

SUBARU LEG 1 REPORT  (TOP OF PAGE)

• After an excellent first day of the Acropolis Rally, Subaru's Petter Solberg lies well placed in second overall, 26 seconds off the lead, with two more days of the rally remaining. Driving an Impreza WRC2006 the Norwegian was the closest rival to current leader Marcus Gronholm and the pair pulled 35sec clear of current World Champion, Sebastien Loeb who is third. Chris Atkinson made a promising start in the second Subaru but a differential problem in the morning cost him several minutes and dropped him from sixth place to eighteenth. With his car back to full strength after the mid-point service Chris began a spirited recovery and set the fourth fastest stage time on the last test of the day.
• Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "Today I felt the car and new Pirelli tyre were very good and gave me the chance of a good battle. The last three stages of the day were difficult to drive as we took an extra spare wheel for safety
  after the punctures this morning. That's Greece though and it is the same for everyone, but it made the car a bit more tricky to drive and not so good to attack. We're having a good fight out there and I'm looking ahead to try and get closer to Marcus."
• Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "This afternoon was much better than this morning but it took me a while to get used to the changes in setup we made this morning. I feel more confident in the car and that showed in finishing
  the last stage in fourth. I think that tomorrow we can continue to move back up the leaderboard and maybe a top ten finish is still possible, but getting into the points will be hard."

ATKINSON / SUBARU LEG 1 REPORT  (TOP OF PAGE)

• Atkinson suffers setback on day one in Greece, Saturday June 3, 2006
• A mechanical problem on the opening day of the Acropolis Rally of Greece has seen Australian Chris Atkinson readjust his target from a top six result before the event to now hoping to make it back into the top ten by the end on Sunday.
• Atkinson finished Leg One in 17th place after a problem with his car’s rear differential saw him lose around four minutes and 12 places on the final two stages of the morning.
• He and co-driver Glenn Macneall made it back to the midday service where the service crew changed the gearbox of the Impreza WRC2006, and the pair showed what might have been by setting the fourth fastest time on the final stage of the day.
• After a grueling day in high temperatures on rough roads Marcus Gronholm holds a 26.3 second lead over Atkinson’s Subaru team-mate, Petter Solberg, with Sebastien Loeb a further 9.2 seconds back in third.
• Atkinson had started the event well finishing sixth in the opening test on Thursday night at that Athens Olympic Stadium and was fifth fastest on the first stage on Friday morning to be sixth overall. The Subarus were travelling well, with Solberg in second place.
• On SS3 Atkinson again started strongly, his first split-time right on track, but about one third of the way through the issue with the differential became obvious and he started to lose time rapidly. The Queenslander pushed on as quickly as possible, but his time was one minute 22 seconds slower than Gronholm’s and he dropped from sixth to 18th place.
• The ongoing mechanical problem, allied to the high number of junctions, cost the Queenslander a further two minutes 30 seconds to the leaders on SS4 before he could return to Athens for a 30 minute service.
• After the service Atkinson set the ninth fastest time on SS5 and began to claw back the time lost earlier. On SS6, with the ground temperature soaring to 44 C and the road churned up during the previous pass with masses of razor sharp rooks, many cars had punctures and Atkinson was one of those affected when he collected a flat tyre 3km before the finish line.
• Undaunted, Atkinson ended the day showing what might have been by finishing fourth on the SS7, the final stage of the day.
• “To suffer a problem so early when we were travelling well is immensely disappointing and has wrecked the rally for us,” Atkinson said.
• “This afternoon was much better than this morning but it took me a while to get used to the changes in setup we made this morning.”
• “I feel more confident in the car and that showed in finishing the last stage in fourth. I think that tomorrow we can continue to move back up the leader board and maybe a top ten finish is still possible, but getting into the points will be hard.”
• Subaru performance director, Luis Moya, believes Atkinson can move up the field tomorrow.
• “Chris started and finished the day well with top five stage times, however the problem with his rear differential cost him. Now we have to expect that as a result of his road position tomorrow, he can deliver some good times improving his overall result.”
• It was a much better day for Solberg.
• “Today I felt the car and new Pirelli tyre were very good and gave me the chance of a good battle,” Solberg said.
• “The last three stages of the day were difficult to drive as we took an extra spare wheel for safety after the punctures this morning. That’s Greece though and it is the same for everyone, but it made the car a bit more tricky to drive and not so good to attack. We’re having a good fight out there and I’m looking ahead to try and get closer to Marcus.”
• Leg two starts at 0800hrs (1500 AEST) when competitors leave the Athens parc ferme and head west of the city for a loop of three more rough gravel stages. In the afternoon the loop will be repeated after a 30 minute service in Athens. At 134 competitive kilometres, Leg two is the longest of the rally and features the marathon 37km Kineta section, the longest individual stage of the event.

RALLY PREVIEW

CITROEN (KRONOS) RALLY PREVIEW  (TOP OF PAGE)

• Leading the 'Manufacturers' classification, the Kronos Total Citroën WRT will enter two Xsaras on the Hellenic ground : one for reigning World Champions Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena - who are also leading the drivers' rankings - and another one for young Catalan driver Xevi Pons, co-driven by experienced Carlos Del Barrio. Lying in a great third position in the championship, Dani Sordo takes part in the Greek event with Marc Marti and thanks to its faithful supports (Grupo Lábaro, Banco Santander, Gobierno de Cantabria, RACC and Würth) on the same Xsara which allowed him to clinch his first podium on gravel in Italy.
• Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "For Greece, the terrain and the tyres change. We will have at disposal brand new BFGoodrich tyres which should be very useful, like in Sardinia after the second loop of Friday where the tyres reached the wear limit. Of course Marcus has the same rubber but the efficiency also lies in the tyres-car association. Who will do best? It gives a lot of interest to the next
  match."
• Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: "Sardinia has been a sort of preview for Greece, with difficult stages and a heavy heat. On that last thing I have no problems as I realised Carlos and I are really fit. You
  shouldn't forget also that I am Mediterranean. Spaniards don't fear the heat.I don't know the new route but if I believe what I've heard, the rough stages and high temperatures will make of the new
  Acropolis a hard event."

FORD RALLY PREVIEW  (TOP OF PAGE)

• BP-Ford World Rally Team ends the first half of its 2006 campaign next week by taking on what is expected to be the toughest round of the FIA World Rally Championship. The Acropolis Rally of Greece (1 - 4 June) is one of the series' classic events, which was voted the best in the 2005 championship, and a new format based around Athens' majestic Olympic Stadium ensures this
  eighth round is eagerly awaited.
• Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "My retirement in Italy was disappointing but the pace of the car on the opening morning was so good. It surprised me because it was a disadvantage for Loeb to run first on the road in the loose gravel, but it wasn't that much better for me in second in the start order. I'm confident we can set the same kind of pace in Greece. The Focus has a strong history on this rally and it would be nice to add to its winning record."
• Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "After finishing second in Sardinia, I'm really excited about this rally. Despite the conditions, it's still a sprint rally so I will drive flat out from the start, but with an element of caution to avoid the rocks. Personally I feel well prepared. I stayed in Sardinia for two days to train in the heat and then I have two days' testing so I should be acclimatised to the high temperatures. The thing to remember is to keep drinking to replace the fluids you sweat out. Even when you think you can't drink any more, you have to keep drinking."

ATKINSON SUBARU RALLY PREVIEW

Hot test awaits Atkinson in Greece

• Thursday June 1, 2006
• Subaru World Rally Team driver, Australian Chris Atkinson, starts his 2006 Acropolis Rally of Greece campaign this evening (Thursday night), well aware that it will be one of his biggest tests for the season. For the first time the event is being based out of the 2004 Athens Olympic main stadium and features all new stages. Not only are the roads largely new, their surface and character is very different to what competitors normally expect in this classic World Rally Championship round.
• The route takes crews to the hills north and west of Athens, with no test further than 80 kilometres from the service park. With average speeds higher than those in Sardinia and temperatures approaching 40ºC, Greece is one of the most gruelling events of the year.
• “This is going to be a tough event, because of the weather here and the roads,” Atkinson said. “It has already been very hot. Recce was hard work and there is a lot more of that to come.” “This year sees a very different character of roads than what has been traditionally used here in Greece. They are hard to follow and very technical. It is difficult to pick the breaking points, but it is a brand new event so it will be the same for everyone.” “There are some serious uphill climbs and tricky downhill sections that follow.” “Tyres will be pivotal. The roads are a lot different to past years with a lot of loose surface.” “It is certainly going to be an interesting and challenging weekend but I’m quite positive about Greece.” “I was happy with the improvements we found in the test we did in Greece last month. We found a good set-up that worked well in Sardinia and we will use more or less the same again in Greece.” “We showed in Italy that we had the speed to get a good finish and score some points, in Greece we’ve got to follow this through. I’m aiming for a top six.”
• Atkinson crashed his car just four kilometres before the end of the Sardinia rally a fortnight ago, but the car has been repaired, although a new shell has been used.
• The 2006 route includes 18 special stages and 355.62 competitive kilometres. Legs one and two will feature two loops of three stages separated by a midday service halt, with two loops of two tests on Leg three. There will be two passes through the Superspecial in the Olympic stadium, built for the 2004 games, on Thursday and Sunday, with an expected crowd of more than 60,000 fans. The podium finish is scheduled for 1530hrs in the stadium on Sunday.
• Subaru has won the Acropolis Rally four times in the last 10 years. Colin McRae drove to victory in 1996 and 1998, with Richard Burns sealing a third Greek win for the team in 1999. Petter Solberg scored the seventh win of his career at the event in 2004.
• The Acropolis Rally will be Solberg’s 100th WRC start. The 31-year-old will become the youngest driver to reach this total. Solberg made his world-level debut at the 1998 Swedish Rally and has since secured 13 wins, 17 podiums and the 2003 drivers’ world title. It is Atkinson’s second Acropolis Rally.
• The Greek round is the last rally before the mid-season nine week break.

SUBARU RALLY PREVIEW    (TOP OF PAGE)

• The Subaru World Rally Team will enter two Impreza WRC2006s. One car will be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) with the other by Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall). Subaru has won the Acropolis Rally four times in the last 10 years. Colin McRae drove to victory in 1996 and 1998, with Richard Burns sealing a third Greek win for the team in 1999. Petter Solberg scored the seventh win of his career at the event in 2004. The Acropolis Rally will be Solberg's 100th WRC start. The 31-year-old will become the youngest driver to reach this total. Solberg made his world-level debut at the 1998 Swedish Rally and has since secured 13 wins, 17 podiums
  and the 2003 drivers' world title. Chris Atkinson starts his second Acropolis Rally this year.
• Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "Of course I was disappointed not to have finished higher in Sardinia as we did have the pace when everything went well. I never give up though and I'm going to Greece with the same goal I always have - to win. I enjoy the rally, I got my first podium there and this time it will be my 100th start. I want to make it a memorable one."
• Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "The stages are all new for this year so we'll be learning them the same as everyone else on the recce. I'm quite positive about Greece. I was happy with the improvements we found in the test we did in Greece earlier this month. We found a good set-up that worked well in Sardinia and we will use more or less the same again in Greece. We showed in Italy that we had the speed to get a good finish and score some points, in Greece we've got to follow this through. I'm aiming for a top six."

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