Aava can clinch the crown this Sunday if he beats his main rival and
Suzuki team-mate, Per-Gunnar Andersson by at least seven points. Should he fail, then the battle will go down to the final round the following week.
Aava and P-G will both be the favourites to take the win in Spain, although they will face stiff competition from the Citroens, particularly the C2 Super 1600 of Martin Prokop, who took the JRC win in Germany last time out.
“This event is going to be very different to the first asphalt rally of the season in Germany,” said Prokop, who is currently fifth in the Junior standings.
“In Spain the roads are very fast and almost like a racing circuit. We therefore need to make sure that the car is well-adjusted to this type of conditions. My co-driver and I have the advantage of knowing these stages and having some experience of these conditions.
“Nonetheless, I’m in a delicate situation championship-wise ever since I went off the road in Finland. I’m going to be doing my best to score some points and I hope to be in the top three of the championship at the end of the year.”
Of the others, 2006 Junior champion, Patrik Sandell will be eager to do well and cement third in the standings, especially as this is his final event of the year. He did not nominate Corsica at the start of the season on which to score JRC points.
Jaan Molder could also figure quite high up the order, along with
Conrad Rautenbach and Aaron Burkart.
“Catalunya is what I would call a ‘normal’ asphalt rally,” noted Rautenbach. “There’s good grip on the stages with wide roads, but most of all it’s important to get all the lines right. We’ve done some testing to refine our C2 Super 1600 so I’m really keen to get going now.
“I’m also very much looking forward to Corsica, which is one of my favourite rallies. The C2 is really strong on asphalt and I hope it can take me to a podium, or even a victory.”
