Citroen Sport team boss, Guy Frequelin meanwhile was delighted with their 1-2 result three weeks ago, however he remains cautious and is aware that the Swedish Rally is a very different ‘beast’ to the Monte.
“For sure, we will be under a little less pressure [in Sweden]. The performance of the C4 WRC on the Rallye Monte Carlo on asphalt was reassuring; we feel comfortable that it is an easy car to drive and Seb's arm didn't seem to be a problem,” continued Frequelin. “All the questions we faced upstream of the Monte received a favourable answer. Our one-two in Monaco was a big boost for everyone at Citroën Sport, but we haven't lost sight of the fact that Sweden is likely to be a very different story. The questions that still need answering are how the car will go on snow and where it stands in terms of reliability.”
BP Ford WRT:
[Marcus Gronholm, car #3 and
Mikko Hirvonen, car #4.]
BP Ford team leader, Marcus Gronholm will be gunning for his second Swedish win in succession - and his fifth in total when he starts the event this coming Thursday.
Gronholm, who took his debut WRC win on the Swedish Rally back in 2000, and who also won in 2002, 2003 and 2006, will be one of the pre-event favourites, especially as the Swedish Rally normally suits northern Europeans.
"In proper winter conditions the Swedish Rally is a superb event," said the Finn, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Monday. "It's really exciting to drive flat out on the snow and use the snow banks to help us around the bends. For me, driving in those conditions is something special and this is one of my favourite rallies of the season. Maybe I enjoy it so much because I started my rally career on those types of roads.”
Asked about the event in more detail, Gronholm noted that the speed and grip is excellent thanks to the studded tyres.
"It sounds surprising but the grip is excellent due to the tyres. We have almost as good grip in the snow with studded tyres as we do on gravel,” he confirmed. “But it's important to try to keep in the driving line because if you move off the line into the loose snow, that costs traction and time. You can also become sucked into the snow banks, which is the down side of having them line the roads.”
