“With hindsight and the mountain bike accident I had afterwards, you could say we did the right thing by pulling out all the stops to win. The points we scored avoided us having to compete again at the end of the season.

“Does that make Rally Japan a better event to my eyes though? Possibly. Nobody likes getting up early or driving for hours on road sections but, happily, the stages are interesting.

“The most striking thing about the event, however, is the welcome we receive and the big change it makes to what we are accustomed to."

So will he be targeting another win?

"Given the number of events to come after Japan and also given the current gap in the championship, we don't really have any alternative. We need to try to finish ahead of Marcus. If we succeed, and even if he finishes second, we will still be in with a chance for the title.

“We will have an even better chance, of course, if he finishes lower than second. It won't be easy because he is quick in Japan, but we will try to put the pressure on him," he added.

Daniel Sordo meanwhile has said that he will be happy with a top-five finish, as he still has a lot to learn about the event. Sordo made his debut on the Hokkaido-based round last year, but didn't score after he was excluded from seventh place due to a seat-belt infraction.

The Spaniard though still did all the stages and that experience should be of help as he looks to continue to improve on the 'loose'.

"I still have a great deal to learn about Rally Japan and there will also be some sections that are new to me this year, so that doesn't play in my favour,” he explained when asked about his objectives.

“I will try to use the experience I gained in 2006 though to avoid making the same mistakes. I don't know whether we will succeed in giving Seb a helping hand. We will do our best, but it is perhaps more reasonable to target a top-five finish.”


BP Ford WRT:

[Marcus Gronholm, car #3 and Mikko Hirvonen, car #4]

Too close to call, says Gronholm.

Marcus Gronholm has predicted that the battle for the 2007 drivers' title will probably go all the way to the wire.

Gronholm heads into the Rally Japan still in the lead, albeit having seen his 10-point cushion cut back to just four points following the back-to-back asphalt events in Spain and France. Speaking ahead of this weekend's event, the Finn conceded though that with 30-points still up for grabs, it is difficult to say who will ultimately come out top.