Peugeot prepared for more punishment.

After the car breaking Cyprus Rally, the world championship series continues with the equally punishing stages of nearby Greece this Friday, home of the celebrated Acropolis Rally. The event will provide Peugeot with the second outing for their new 206 Evolution, which will once again be in the hands of Didier Auriol, Marcus Gr?nholm and Harri Rovanper?.

The Cyprus Rally marked the maiden outing of the 2001-specification 206 WRC. The new car proved competitive out of the box, with Marcus Gr?nholm leading the event by the end of the opening leg.

Unfortunately, with the chequered flag in sight, the reigning World Champion was forced to retire while in the thick of the fight for victory. Both his teammates Didier Auriol and Harri Rovanper? were also sidelined before the finish.

The absence of points naturally came as a considerable disappointment to Peugeot Sport but the whole team remains extremely motivated: "We have a great deal of work on our hands," underlined Peugeot Sport Director Corrado Provera. "While the retirement of Harri (Rovanper?) in Cyprus was of his own making, the problems that forced out both Didier and Marcus were due to teething troubles with the latest evolution of the 206 WRC which was making its debut on the island. Ford is well placed in the fight for the title, but we have no intention of giving up without a reaction. The entire team is ready to work very hard and we will succeed!"

With more than half the field failing to reach the finish, the Cyprus Rally was particularly tough on mechanicals. The Acropolis promises to be just as tough, although not nearly as slow.

"The majority of the stages in Cyprus were covered at an average of around 60 kph," points out Peugeot Sport's rallying chief, Jean-Pierre Nicolas. "Such exceptionally slow speeds are not typical of the championship. I believe we need to wait to see the results of the more traditional rounds before we can evaluate in detail the performance benefit of the 2001 version of the 206 WRC. Having said that, the tests we have carried out and the feedback we have had from our drivers clearly indicate that we have progressed, notably in the domains of suspension and engine performance, including reduced response time.

"As far as reliability is concerned, we were aware that the lack of kilometres on the new car's clock exposed us to some risk, even though we clearly hoped we wouldn't have any trouble. Didier's retirement was caused by a worn radiator core while that of Marcus was traced to a broken fuel pump mounting located inside the fuel tank. This was due to a production fault. Following the lessons learnt during the 2001-evolution car's maiden event, we took the decision to organise an additional two-day test in Greece. This (was) scheduled for the weekend prior to the start and we will use one of the Cyprus cars."

Of the three drivers entered by Peugeot for the Acropolis Rally, only Didier Auriol has previously won this event, in 1992. The 1994 World Champion has also finished second on two occasions in Greece (1989 and 1998).

"Although the Acropolis is very rough and highly demanding on tyres, it's an event I really enjoy," confessed Auriol. "The stages are a bit faster than in Cyprus and they are said to be smoother this year than they have been in the past. But whatever they prove to be like, I know this event well and generally go well there."

Although Marcus Gr?nholm can claim neither the experience nor the record of Didier in Greece, the defending World Champion demonstrated in Cyprus that he is capable of adapting to this type of terrain. As for his fellow Finn Harri Rovanper?, he has a number of Acropolis starts under his belt, including a win in the 2-litre category there in 1997. "I have some good memories of the Acropolis. It's a rally I enjoy a great deal even though it can be very rough."