Sebastien Loeb meanwhile will be eager to bounce back and he has insisted that his Sardinia off was just one of those things and that it is no point looking back. Indeed the error does have one upside for the Frenchman as it means he will have a fresh engine and chassis for this round. He will also benefit as he won’t have to start first on the road.
“Rally driving is not an exact science and we are forever on a knife-edge. At times there isn't a big difference between staying on the road and going off. What's really frustrating is that I wasn't even pushing when I made my mistake. But it happened, so we've just got to put it behind us and look forward,” he stated.
“Neither championship has been lost though and the Acropolis is only the halfway point of the season. We will still have eight rallies to make up ground after the break.”
BP Ford WRT:
[Marcus Gronholm, car #3 and
Mikko Hirvonen, car #4.]
Marcus Gronholm heads to the Acropolis determined to try and build on his seven point lead in the drivers’ championship. Gronholm took his second win of the season in Sardinia recently and that result, combined with Sebastien Loeb’s retirement, has put him right back in contention for his third world title and the Finn is keen to try and capitalise on this.
“Victory in Italy put me back into the lead of the championship. The next two rallies now give me the opportunity to build on that lead. The Acropolis is traditionally a strong event for Ford while the first event after the summer break in Finland is my home event so I really want to capitalise on those,” he confirmed.
Gronholm has competed on the Acropolis eight times in his career and won the event last year. Furthermore while the event has a fearsome reputation and is tough on both man and machine, due to the high temperatures, it may be muddy in places this year due to recent rain.
