"The stages will be new for everyone, which will mean a hard recce preparing pace notes for the entire route," he explained. "We've been lucky though because many rallies this year have contained new sections so we're used to making fresh notes. But it will be challenging to drive on different roads, many of which I'm told will be rough. In those conditions we must think about the correct set-up to protect the car. It's important to raise the ride height and stiffen the suspension but as we haven't seen the stages yet, it's all guesswork until the recce."
Hirvonen has competed three times before on the Acropolis and did well in 2005 at the wheel of a privately-entered Focus when he led on the opening leg before eventually finishing fifth. That form and his second place finish in Sardinia, his best result ever in the WRC, has given him a big boost.
"After finishing second in Sardinia, I'm really excited about this rally. Despite the conditions, it's still a sprint rally so I will drive flat out from the start, but with an element of caution to avoid the rocks. Personally I feel well prepared," he concluded.
555 Subaru World Rally Team:
[
Petter Solberg, car #5 and
Chris Atkinson, car #6.]
Petter Solberg will become the youngest driver to notch up 100 starts, when he takes part in the Acropolis Rally. Of the current WRC field, only three have reached the 100 milestone, namely Marcus Gronholm, Harri Rovanpera and Manfred Stohl, the latter having recently joined the 100 club an the Rally Argentina.
Speaking prior to the event, the Norwegian noted that he is keen to get a memorable result, after a less than positive outing in Sardinia: "Of course I was disappointed not to have finished higher in Sardinia as we did have the pace when everything went well," he noted. "I never give up though and I’m going to Greece with the same goal I always have - to win. I enjoy the rally, I got my first podium there and this time it will be my 100th start. I want to make it a memorable one."
