"I can get used to this role [as championship leader] for sure. For me it is not a win but just points that I am aiming for [in Turkey]," confirmed the
Red Bull Rally Team star. "We want to get a good result that allows us to pull away in the championship and put our closest rivals under pressure."
In total 23 drivers have opted to take in the Rally of Turkey and in addition to Ketomaa and Hanninen, three other regulars will be absent - namely Spyros Pavlides, Fumio Nutahara and Subhan Aksa.
This won’t mean Aigner will have it easy though and a number of other drivers will also be strong, including 2005 and 2007 PWRC champion Toshi Ari, 2006 PWRC champion Nasser Al-Attiyah, Martin Prokop, Patrik Sandell, Martin Rauam, Armindo Araujo and Mirco Baldacci.
Aigner’s own team-mate, Bernardo Sousa could also spring a surprise and to date this season he has had a very good run.
Indeed in his first season in the WRC he has finished in the points in all three events he has contested - including taking the runners-up spot in Greece two weeks ago, which lifted him up to joint fourth in the PWRC standings with Nutahara.
"The season has been totally sensational for me so far. I am not going to allow myself to rest though as I need to put in some more hard work. I know that I still have a lot to learn. A place in the points is once again my main objective," said the Portuguese star.
Other significant entries:
76 crews set to start.
76 crews are due to start the round - the most thus far for anyone single event, with all six manufacturer teams in action and 16 World Rally Cars in total.
In addition to the usual 'works' entries,
Conrad Rautenbach and
Urmo Aava will both be at the wheel of PH Sport-run
Citroen C4 WRCs, while Andreas Mikkelsen will compete in a privately entered Ford Focus RS WRC.
Of the rest, in addition to the 23 PWRC runners, another 37 runners will also take in the event, with nine more in Group N cars, while eleven will run in the N3 and N2 classes, three in the A6 class, two in A7 and one in the A5 class.
Route:
The route is virtually identical to the rally's last WRC appearance in 2006, with just minor modifications to a few stages. The holiday resort of Kemer is again the base and home to the single service park.
All three legs are located in the complex maze of gravel roads high in the Anatolian mountains to the west.
The action begins with a super special stage on Thursday evening at the university in Antalya, 40km north of Kemer, which is repeated at the end of Saturday's second leg.
