Loeb’s team-mate,
Daniel Sordo meanwhile has never competed on the event before and as such his main aim is to gain experience of the stages and above all make sure he gets his Xsara WRC car to the finish to pick up as many points as possible in the constructors' championship for the Belgian-based squad.
"I know nothing at all about Rally Japan," noted the Spaniard. "I’ve seen some pictures of the rally and from I’ve been told the stages are quite fast and narrow. There is lots of gravel and some grass which hide the sides of the roads - a very special rally, which isn’t easy, apparently. Like in Sweden and Mexico, I need to discover everything. I will have to work a lot in reconnaissance and have the right feeling. I will start on a cautious pace with the objective to improve my performance on the second passage. Above all, I will focus on scoring manufacturers’ points for the team."
The event will also be a new one to the Kronos team as a whole, however team boss, Marc van Dalen is not concerned: “What I know best of Japan is its food - I love Japanese cuisine! More seriously though, yes Kronos will discover this country, this rally and these stages [for the first time]. We’ve already been in that situation of exploring a country in Sweden and Mexico, and it actually went quite well. I hope it will be the same in Obihiro, where we can lean on Citroen’s experience.
“Sebastien [Loeb] and Daniel [Elena] competed in the event twice and Marc Marti took part in 2004 with Carlos Sainz. All three will be there to show Dani [Sordo] the way. Dani was a rookie in Sweden and Mexico, he performed rather well and I know he has great learning skills.”
Kronos will not enter a third car for Xavier Pons, following his off in Finland [more details below]. It is the first this year they have been reduced to a two-car outfit.
BP Ford:
[Marcus Gronholm, car #3 and
Mikko Hirvonen, car #4.]
Marcus Gronholm reckons that he should be in contention for the win on all the remaining events this year, including this weekend’s Rally Japan. Speaking prior to the event, the Finn, who took his fourth victory of the season two weeks ago in Finland and his second in three events, added that the current reliability of the Focus is also a boost to his morale.
