“Our visits to Ireland earlier in the year, Citroën's experience of asphalt and the Citroën C4 WRC's proven competitiveness on sealed surfaces should all help us and I hope Dani [Sordo] and Marc [Marti] succeed in finishing ahead of Marcus [in the #2 C4]. We're still very much in with a shout, but we have very little margin for manoeuvre.”
Asked what he learned from his two outings in Ireland earlier this year, Seb added that they taught him this event will be far from easy.
"It's important to point out too that the Donegal and Cork Rallies don't take place in the same region as Sligo and the roads there might be different to what we've already seen,” he continued.
“Taking part in these two events was a new experience but Citroën has good experience of asphalt. That said, Rally Ireland promises to be like no other event I know. I would perhaps liken it to the French Championship's Rallye du Touquet, only faster in places. The bumpy, narrow stages make it a very difficult cocktail and it will call for a special feeling. It will doubtlessly be close but we'll give it everything we've got!”
Citroen team boss, Guy Frequelin meanwhile believes that this event could be critical in deciding whether it is Loeb or Gronholm who ends up taking the 2007 drivers’ title.
“Ireland promises to be a turning point,” Frequelin stated ahead of the penultimate round in the WRC. “It isn't possible to predict all the potential scenarios, of course, but the fact remains that Seb and Daniel [Elena] trail Marcus by four points, with two events remaining to attempt to bridge that gap.
“If they manage to win in Ireland, the final outcome will be influenced of course by the result Grönholm achieves in Sligo. If he comes second, Seb will still have a deficit of two points to make up on the championship's final round in Wales.”
BP Ford WRT:
[Marcus Gronholm, car #3 and
Mikko Hirvonen, car #4 [and
Khalid Al Qassimi, car #17 - not nominated for manufacturers’ points]]
We can’t taken anything for granted, says Gronholm.
Marcus Gronholm has said that he is feeling ‘really excited’ ahead of the final two rounds in the WRC.
Gronholm currently leads the race for the drivers’ title, however he is only four points up on arch rival,
Sebastien Loeb and with twenty points still up for grabs the Finn knows that he will need to keep his focus.
![Marcus Gronholm (FIN) / Timo Rautiainen (FIN) - BP Ford Focus WRC. Galway International Rally, February 3-4 2007. [Pic credit: Ford / worldrallypics.com]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/286908.jpg)
