“The stages tend to be twistier, so we shall see if that suits us or whether we still have work on our hands in that area. If we are competitive, the objective will be to try to win.”
Although Rally Norway is new to the WRC - and new events are something that usually suit Seb - the Citroen man isn’t convinced that will necessarily be the case this weekend.
“It's true that new events tend to go well for me, but do I really have an advantage on new events? I'm not so sure. I think the likes of Marcus Gronholm and the Solberg brothers will also be strong in Norway,” he continued. “The main thing will be to take good notes.”
Daniel Sordo meanwhile believes that the Rally Norway will be another tough test for him, given he has only done two winter rallies to date. Sordo struggled somewhat on the snow in Sweden, and after finishing second at the season opening Rallye Monte Carlo, he eventually finished 12th overall in Karlstad - around 10 minutes off his team-mate, Loeb and around 4 minutes off
Chris Atkinson, who took the final drivers’ point in eighth.
Furthermore while his Swedish experience is likely to be of use, the Spaniard isn’t expecting miracles and in many ways he is looking forward to getting on with the rest of the championship.
“The fact that Sweden and Norway are back to back is a good thing because it allows you to carry on your momentum and keep your feeling with the car. That said, I don't think I have found my marks sufficiently yet to be totally comfortable in Norway,” he conceded.
“My three days in Sweden were good for my apprenticeship but I still have a lot of work on my plate.
“It will be important to finish in Norway [like in Sweden], especially since it's a new event. With regard to future visits, I want to contest all the stages. Maybe I will manage to score a few points for
Citroen, but I am looking forward to getting the wintry events out of the way and moving on to gravel on which I should be more competitive.”
BP Ford WRT:
[Marcus Gronholm, car #3 and
Mikko Hirvonen, car #4.]
BP Ford team leader, Marcus Gronholm has said that he is looking forward to Rally Norway, even if it will be something of a step into the unknown. Speaking prior to the event and following his victory in Sweden on Sunday, the Finn added that the fact it will be a new event for virtually all the top crews will make the recce extra important, as it will be vital to get the pace notes right, prior to the off this Friday.
![Scene at the start of Rally Norway 2006 [Pic credit: Rally Norway]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/263848.jpg)
