Subaru keeps it hot in Greece.

With little chance of a rest following last week's Cyprus Rally, teams are already gearing up for the seventh round of the World Rally Championship - the Acropolis Rally of Greece - which starts from Athens on Thursday.

Greece is the second of the hot Mediterranean events, which test drivers and cars against some of the roughest stages the championship has to offer. The rally is made up of 20 rock-strewn stages that cover almost 400 competitive kilometres. Like last year, the route is based around a single service park at Parnassos, south east of Gravia, while rally headquarters and the overnight halts will be at the seaside town of Itea, 190km west of Athens.

The Acropolis Rally has a fearsome reputation as one of the toughest in the championship. Despite being classed as a gravel event, the stages are littered with rocks and boulders, which can destroy tyres and cause structural damage to the cars. For Subaru's technical Director, David Lapworth, the event is more than an ordinary rallying challenge.

"It's quite similar to Cyprus in many respects, but the Acropolis presents us with a very tough set of conditions," he says, "This is definitely the sternest test for a standard gravel specification car. But I think that the performance of Richard and Toshi's cars in Cyprus demonstrated that the Subaru is very strong on these sort of stages.

"For this event, we've put the emphasis on car stability and durability. I expect that the stages will be a bit rougher that they were in Cyprus, and the average speed will be higher. The speed means more airflow, which is good news for the cooling systems on the car, and for the comfort of the drivers.

"Like we saw in Cyprus, tyres will be a crucial factor in this rally, especially their ability to last through grouped stages. We were very happy with the performance of our Pirelli's last time out, and we're hoping for that sort of result again in Greece."

All four SWRT works drivers will be competing in Acropolis, with Richard Burns and Petter Solberg nominated for manufacturers' points. Markko Martin and Toshihiro Arai fielding the third and fourth cars.

"After the results in Argentina and Cyprus, I'm feeling very positive about my driving and about the car," Burns reveals, "It's too early to be talking too much about the championship, but the situation has certainly improved recently.

"Although there are differences in character between Cyprus and Greece, there is not so much difference in tyre choice. Both events are hard on the car - especially the tyres and suspension - but Greece is probably a bit worse because of the higher speeds we can achieve."

"This rally should be a bit faster than Cyprus but, generally, they are very similar," agrees Solberg, "Pirelli have been working very hard for this type of event and so I think we should be in pretty good shape. Despite the fire in Cyprus, I am actually feeling very confident. We have no secret plan here, the key thing for me is to not concentrate on results and just drive. There cannot be any more bad luck in store for me!"

With just seven days separating the two punishing Mediterranean events, the Subaru World Rally Team drivers have been taking several different approaches to relaxation:

Rather than travel back to his home in Andorra, Richard Burns opted to stay close to Greece before the event and have a holiday. He and six friends spent the time sailing around the Greek Islands near Zakinthos aboard a 50-foot yacht that Richard part owns. All being well he should be cruising into Itea harbour on Sunday ready to start the recce.

Petter Solberg, on the other hand, has been training hard to prepare for the physically demanding event. Presumably encouraged by the pre-event training camp the team organised in Cyprus, he has been out running each day in the countryside near his home in Norway.

For Toshi Arai, the short break was a chance to spend time with his wife and two children at his new home in Brackley. Arai and co-driver Glenn also took the opportunity to use the training facilities at the team's rally headquarters in Banbury.

"The Acropolis is an event with happy memories for me," the Japanese driver recalls, "Until last week, my best World Rally finish was the fourth place I got in Greece last year. Now, with the good feeling I have with the car, I'm trying to beat it!"

Markko Martin has been absent from the team for the last two events but, after the taking part in the recce in Cyprus, he's been busy back in Estonia mountain-biking and preparing himself for the challenge of the Acropolis.

"It will be a tough event for the car, and for us, but we are determined to put in a good performance and get a good result," he said, "I am just itching to get back into the car."

The Acropolis rally will also play host to the second round of the Super 1600 class, and round four of the FIA Teams' Cup. As a result, it will feature the largest start list so far this year, with 115 cars expected to cross the ceremonial start line in Athens on Thursday evening.

Greece is the fourth event in the FIA Teams' Cup and the Allstars team will be running a car for Hamed Al Wahaibi of the Arab World Rally Team, who is currently lying in equal fourth place in the championship. Frederic Dor will miss the event for domestic reasons, but he will be back in the chase for the next round in San Remo.