Subaru expects it hot and hard in Cyprus.

Round six of the 2001 World Rally Championship takes place next week, when teams travel to the warmth of the Mediterranean for the Cyprus Rally.

Originally a replacement for the China Rally, Cyprus is now in its second year as part of the series, and presents teams with a challenging mix of high summer temperatures and extremely rough terrain.

The event is based around Rally HQ in the coastal town of Lemesos, and is made up of 22 rocky and twisty stages, which keep the speed of the cars down. Last year's average of just 64kph made Cyprus easily the slowest event of the year, but low speeds mean low airflow for the cooling systems on the cars and, with air temperatures expected to be in the mid 30s centigrade, and ground temperatures of more than 45 degrees, drivers, cars and tyres are in for some high temperature punishment.

"I have never been to Cyprus before, not even for a holiday, so I am not sure what to expect," admitted Petter Solberg, "I've heard it's quite rough and twisty, but I do have experience from Safari and Acropolis, so I should be okay. We did some testing a couple of days ago which went well, but the heat inside the car was 58 degrees, so it is going to be hard in that respect. I drank 14 litres of water in one day! "

The car will take almost as much - if not more - punishment than the driver in Cyprus, with stages expected to resemble those more usually seen on the Acropolis Rally, acknowledged as one of the hardest on the calendar.

"Cyprus, like Greece, presents us with some quite specific challenges, mostly concerning the state of the stages, and the high ambient temperatures," commented Subaru team principal David Lapworth, "On our tests for this event, we've been concentrating on maximising the cooling potential of our car at relatively slow speeds, mechanical durability and tyre choices. Historically, the Subaru seems well suited to the rougher events, and we've learned a lot testing which should be of great help here."

In preparation for the next two Mediterranean rallies in Cyprus and Greece, drivers Richard Burns and Markko Martin have been testing on rough gravel roads in southern Spain. Between them, the pair covered a total of 450kms on roads that were representative of the slow and rocky terrain expected on both rounds six and seven.

Immediately prior to the start of the Cyprus Rally, all drivers and co-drivers also attended a further test and an acclimatisation training camp, run by the team's Human Performance Department, complete with a series of activities designed to help them adjust to working in the Cypriot heat.

"I'm looking forward to Cyprus, because I believe we have an excellent chance of getting a good result there," said team leader Burns, "We tested the car a couple of weeks ago, and it felt good, it's sharper handling and very responsive - just what we need. It's difficult to isolate any one thing that is greatly improved - I just have a good feeling with it. I think that the last time I felt this good about the set-up was Sweden, and even though a driving mistake cost me the lead there, the car performed faultlessly.

"The hot weather and rough stages in Cyprus mean that it's a hard event for driver and the cars, but I've got a lot of faith in the Impreza."

Away from the car, Burns spent some time back in the UK, and took part in the local Banbury triathlon with 50 colleagues from Prodrive. He was part of a three-man team, and completed the five-kilometre run section of the event.

Rest and relaxation have been the key to Petter Solberg's training since returning from Argentina. Apart from attending a motorshow in his native Norway, he has been spending some much-needed time at home with friends and family.

Meanwhile Toshi Arai and Glenn Macneall were kept busy when they travelled to Japan to compete in the International Japanese Alpine Rally with a Subaru Impreza WRC2001. Toshi and Glenn travelled out with a small team of SWRT personnel and returned home as champions, after winning the FIA sanctioned rally by more than three minutes.

"I certainly have a positive attitude after the Alpine Rally in Japan," Arai admitted, "It was fantastic to go home and win an event that meant so much to Subaru and me.

"I competed in Cyprus in 2000 as part of the Teams' Cup. I finished in ninth place so, with the new Impreza at my fingertips and the confidence of a top ten position in Argentina fresh in my mind, I hope that we can improve on last year."

The Subaru World Rally Team will be fielding three cars in Cyprus. Burns and Solberg will be nominated for manufacturers' points, with Arai driving the third car.

Cyprus is also the third round of this season's FIA Team's Cup contest, and the Allstars Rally Team will be supporting two Impreza WRC entries. One for Hamed Al Wahaibi of the Arab World Rally Team, and the other for the Frenchman, Frederic Dor.