"Our plans are to do something again with Toni [next year] - a few events, I would say four or five events, but today it is difficult to say," he confirmed. "Budgets are difficult to secure and everything is very, very expensive and for a private team to do something at world level it is always very difficult.
"I am fighting a lot with my sponsors and we are really trying hard to do something with Toni. Nothing has been decided yet, but I can promise I am on the case everyday and we will all do our best in order to be at the start of Rallye Monte Carlo next year."
News from the Manufacturers' teams:
Manufacturer 1.
Kronos Total Citroen WRT:
[Xavier Pons, car #1 and
Daniel Sordo, car #2]
Kronos will have to make do again without their number one driver,
Sebastien Loeb, as the Frenchman is still not fit enough to take part, following his mountain bike accident in September. Loeb though will make the trip to Britain and like in New Zealand, he will complete the reconnaissance.
The news is not especially surprising, as Seb said he was unlikely to do the Welsh round, when he was asked about the situation in NZ: “I am meeting with doctors next week to decide, but I don't think they will change their mind [and say it is OK to compete in Wales]. For the moment it is most important to recover and be ready for next year," he noted.
Kronos will therefore again field cars for Spanish youngsters, Xavier Pons and Daniel Sordo, the former running in Seb’s #1 Citroen Xsara WRC, as he did in Australia and New Zealand.
Kronos team boss Marc van Dalen wants a good result this weekend to complete the year on a high, but neither driver will be restricted by any team orders: “Like in New Zealand, they are free to fight until the end - including one against the other, but without making a silly mistake,” he noted. “In this event, which should be very wintry and in consequence difficult, everyone has his own aim.
