“If they manage to win in Ireland, the final outcome will be influenced of course by the result Grönholm achieves in Sligo. If he comes second, Seb will still have a deficit of two points to make up on the championship's final round in Wales.”


BP Ford WRT:

[Marcus Gronholm, car #3 and Mikko Hirvonen, car #4 [and Khalid Al Qassimi, car #17 - not nominated for manufacturers' points]]

We can't taken anything for granted, says Gronholm.

Marcus Gronholm has said that he is feeling 'really excited' ahead of the final two rounds in the WRC.

Gronholm currently leads the race for the drivers' title, however he is only four points up on arch rival, Sebastien Loeb and with twenty points still up for grabs the Finn knows that he will need to keep his focus.

“I'm really excited about the end of season. Fighting for world titles in both the drivers' and manufacturers' series is a great position to be in and to win both would be the most fantastic way to end my career,” he noted.

“Of course, it's not that easy and things change quickly in this sport so nobody in the team is taking anything for granted. There are two rallies remaining and we have to be as strong and professional as we have been all season.”

This weekend's Rally Ireland meanwhile will be new to both Gronholm and his team-mate, Mikko Hirvonen.

Gronholm took in the Galway Rally in Ireland in February as preparation for this WRC event but the dry and sunny weather that blessed that weekend could be far removed from the conditions this week.

“That rally provided an insight into the type of roads used for rallying in Ireland,” Marcus added.

"However, until I make the recce I won't know how similar these stages are. I've been told the roads will be fast but unforgiving and difficult to read, so ensuring the pace notes are 100 per cent accurate will be vital during the recce.”

Mikko also completed a 'practice' event for Rally Ireland when he tackled the Cork '20' International Rally in September.

"After what I saw there, I think this will be the most difficult rally of the season," he continued. "Nobody knows what the weather will do. It could be cold overnight so a combination of ice and narrow, bumpy roads would be extremely difficult.”

For the record, Gronholm and Hirvonen will be joined on the event by Abu Dhabi's Khalid Al Qassimi, who returns to the BP Ford WRT set-up for his fourth and final outing of the season.


OMV Kronos Citroen WRT:

[Manfred Stohl, car #5]

Stohl wants to add to 12-point tally.

OMV Kronos Citroen's Manfred Stohl believes that changeable conditions could help him break into top-eight and score points on the Rally Ireland this weekend.