"There are now six of us grouped within just ten points and Rally Finland, which is wide open, promises to be a turning point," predicted Meeke. "There's a great deal at stake and all the favourites will set off at a very fast pace. We will have to find the ideal speed straight away and also resist the temptation of overdoing it. Otherwise we could only end up losing too much ground!
"I feel confident though. Our pre-event testing went well and I am very pleased with the set-up we have found. Our win in Germany was a tremendous morale booster and a great way to prepare for this weekend's legendary event. I don't feel any pressure and I am totally focused. I intend to give it my best shot and I hope to come away with a top result. The car can do it, so it will be up to me to continue to exploit its potential."
In a change to the original PH Sport
Citroen C2 line-up, Brice Tirabassi will not compete following his crash in Germany on day one. As such Citroen have drafted in French rally championship competitor, Fabien Fiandino, who will now give the Citroen C2-R2 its JWRC debut. Although he was already down to start at #96 this has now changed and as such he now gets the #55 slot.
"I was down to do the event running at #96," confirmed Fiandino. "My thoughts are with Brice and I wish him a speedy recovery but his withdrawal means I now find myself at #55 and in the JWRC pack. For us, that's obviously a bonus. The stages won't be so badly damaged, especially the portions that cut-up easily. We won't be changing our car so we will have the honour of giving the C2-R2 its JWRC debut. It would be nice if we succeeded in getting its world class career off to a flying start."
Other notable entries in the class include Rally Catalunya winner, Martin Prokop (Citroen C2) and Rally Argentina winner, Guy Wilks (
Suzuki Swift).
Other significant entries:
Over 100 crews have entered the Rally Finland and are due to start the event - it is the most entered for any single round thus far this season, with the Acropolis Rally the next best to date, with 91 having taken part in that event in Greece, at the start of June.
