"I hope this year to do better than the last year, when I retired just two stages before the end due to engine problems," added Araujo. "I like the Acropolis Rally and I hope to finish. The best for me will be to finish in top three, because I need to make to gain some points for the championship."
Then there is Patrik Sandell in his Peugeot 207 S2000 and Martin Prokop, who are also both competing in the JWRC this season, as well as Travis Pastrana, Bernardo Sousa, Loris Baldacci, Martin Rauam and so on and on.
"This is the first time in Greece both for me and for a Super 2000 car," noted Sandell. "We want, first of all, to have good recce and a good shakedown. We want to be next to the top and we'll make some changes, so as to find the right set-up. We don't know many things about the car in this rally, because it is its first time here, but we will see."
Other significant entries:
62 crews set to start.
62 crews are due to start round seven - 17 of which will be in World Rally Cars, with all the manufacturer teams' represented.
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 Mads Ostberg will compete in an Adapta-run
Subaru Impreza.
Rautenbach, who had handbrake problems on days one and two in Sardinia, is hoping he be right up there on the Acropolis.
"The Acropolis Rally is all about heat, dust and tough stages. Coming from Africa, that's right up my street. I've always enjoyed the Acropolis – it's a real challenge," said the 23-year-old.
"What would be great in Greece is three days of consistent performance from the car. We struggled a bit with that in Sardinia. But, on the last day [in Sardinia] I was in a rhythm and feeling good. If we can put together three Sardinian Sundays on the Acropolis, that would suit me fine – and it would give us the chance to be right up there."
Of the rest, in addition to the 29 PWRC runners, another 16 runners will also take in the round, including twelve more in Group N cars, two in the A6 class and two in the A5 class.
Route:
For the third consecutive year, the rally has a new base. It will be centred at the military airport of Tatoi, 20km north of the centre of Athens. The airfield hosted a stage of the rally in 1975 and this year will also be home to a gravel super special stage on Friday evening and the rally's finale on Sunday afternoon.
