Per-Gunnar Andersson is keeping his targets in check for his home event this coming weekend, despite his form on the Rallye Monte Carlo two weeks ago.
P-G managed to finish eighth on round 1, to score points on his first outing in a WRC car and to give the
Suzuki World Rally Team two manufacturers' points on its first 'proper' outing with the all-new SX4 WRC car.
The 27-year-old will now compete in front of his home fans and he will definitely be able to draw on a lot of local knowledge, as he comes from the village of Argang, around 100 kilometres down the road from the stages.
Furthermore as well being a two-time Junior champion, P-G was also the Swedish Super 1600 champion in 2003 and 2004 and he has contested approximately 60 rallies in his homeland since the start of his career, including four Swedish WRC rounds. All of which should stand him in good stead, not that he is expecting miracles.
"Scoring a driver's point in Monte Carlo with the SX4 WRC has given me a real boost going into my home rally, and I'm feeling quite confident," he noted.
"But of course it will actually be harder to get a good result in Sweden than it was in Monte Carlo, as there will be more local experts and also a higher number of entries. If we can finish in the top ten that would be a great result.
"I think there should be enough ice on the stages to find good grip, but if there is not so much snow then the speeds will be even faster than usual. Whatever happens, I'm looking forward to it!"
Suzuki team boss Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima meanwhile is aware that it will be a special event for Andersson. He is eager however to see P-G and
Toni Gardemeister both get to the end so that the team can get as much mileage as possible with the SX4.
"Sweden is a very exciting event for all of us and especially for P-G as it is his home rally, but once more my instructions to the drivers will be to bring the car home above all. By accumulating as many kilometres as we can and learning step by step, we will continue to make progress," he added.
