The Finn, who will start the event for the third time in his career, concedes that it wasn’t exactly the way he wanted to begin the year, especially as he had ended 2006 on the crest of a wave, following two Production WRC wins in Oz and NZ and a fourth place finish on the Wales Rally GB.
“I am really looking forward to Sweden, snow rallies are normally very good for me and, coming from Finland, I really like driving on snow. I have competed on this rally twice before, but only once in a WRC car. This was 2005 when I used a Corolla and we finished the rally in 15th position. My championship hasn’t got off to a good start though and it would be nice to have a good result in Sweden,” he noted.
“I have to learn from my accident in Monte Carlo, I want to drive fast in Sweden but also I need to keep a safety margin as well.”
Matthew Wilson for the record will drive the ‘third’ car, while Andreas Mikkelsen will be also compete under the
Stobart banner - his car though will be run by Ramsport, not M-Sport.
Munchi’s Ford WRT:
[Luis-Perez Companc, car #11 and Juan Pablo Raies, car #12]
The Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team will make its debut on the Swedish Rally and lead driver, Luis-Perez Companc has promised to try and score as many points as possible during 2007.
Companc, who competed in eight events last year under the Stobart Ford banner, will do ten events this season and while he concedes that the pressure is on him, he is bullish about his prospects. Indeed the Argentine was well impressed with the Focus WRC car in 2006 and he can’t wait to get back behind the wheel.
“The Focus WRC 06 is a fantastic car to drive and the few events I drove it last year, it left me with such a good feeling that I am really looking forward to driving it again this season,” he confirmed. “The expectations are big this year because we have entered a team in the championship and the idea will be to try and score as many points as possible.”
