Petter retired for the second event in succession at the end of last month and currently is only joint seventh in the drivers' championship - equal with his brother Henning, both having scored 9 points.
'Hollywood' has done the Rally d'Italia Sardegna every year since it joined the WRC in 2004 and while he won the first event and was second in 2005, he didn't do quite so well in 2006 and 2007, finishing ninth and fifth respectively.
"Sardinia is very tough as the surface is very soft and there are lots of ruts on the second passes. We’ve won there before, and I will go there pushing hard, but it is never an easy rally, so we will just see," he said cautiously.
"The team has been working hard since Jordan so I hope we will be able to go well there."
Chris Atkinson meanwhile is also tight lipped on what he might achieve on round six, even though he has a tremendous season so far.
Indeed despite having taken four podium finishes from five events this year, Chris insisted he will just be focusing on doing what he can again this weekend - a strategy that to date has served him well, as he bides his time ahead of the introduction of the new Impreza WRC 2008.
Although the Banbury-based outfit has still not set a date for the debut of its new car, Atkinson and Petter both had their first familiarisations run aboard the all-new Impreza recently and work is said to be 'progressing well' with further information due to follow in the 'coming weeks', with some reports noting its introduction might happen before the summer break.
"It’s important to drive smoothly and without mistakes in Sardinia as the roads are very technical and narrow but it’s a rally I enjoy," said Chris. "It’s my fourth year here, and my second with Stéphane [Prevot – my co-driver], so I hope we can have a good event and run competitively.
"I’m not thinking about another podium finish, but just concentrating on our pace and fighting as high up as we can."
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally team:
[
Gigi Galli, car #7 and
Matthew Wilson, car #8]
Gigi wants top-three finish.
Gigi Galli will be extra determined to shine this weekend, as the Rally d'Italia Sardegna is his home round in the WRC.
Galli has managed to score points on four of the five rounds so far this season and this will be his seventh attempt at an Italian round of the WRC and his third on the island of Sardinia.
Gigi's best result came in 2004 when he finished sixth outright and first in the Group N category.
