Prevot eyes San Remo return.

Stephane Prevot, the 32-year-old co-driver of Bruno Thiry in the Skoda Motorsport team is recovering rapidly from the injuries sustained during the Safari Rally and aims to be back beside Thiry at the start of the San Remo Rally, re-uniting a rally crew which has been together for 11 years.

The care for the Thiry/Prevot crew came less than two months ago during the very last competitive section of the Safari. The Belgian crew, being close to scoring manufacturer's points, in what is acknowledged as one the most gruelling rallies, crashed just 30kms from the finish.

While the Belgian driver escaped just with mild shock, Prevot broke a lower vertebra and spent a few days in Nairobi hospital. From there he was air lifted back home to Brussels.

The painful and serious injury needed time to heal and Prevot had to withdraw from starting the Finland rally back in August. The Belgian said his disappointment at not being able to start was even more acute because Finland is one of his favourite rallies.

"That really was a horrible feeling for me, just sitting in front of the computer monitor reading Bruno's results via the Internet," admitted Prevot. "Only a few can imagine how much I wanted to be co-driving Bruno there. Apart from the Swedish rally, I like Finland the most."

However, Prevot is an optimist and doesn't want to dwell on what might have been. "Well, there's nothing I can do about it, but I am really anxious to be competing with Bruno and the whole Skoda Motorsport team in San Remo."

Prevot is himself working hard at making that wish come true. His motivation has been reflected in his disciplined approach to rehabilitation and, according to physicians, the regeneration of his broken vertebrae and healing of the accompanying damage has been going much faster than usual.

At the moment the scanner is showing half of the usual calcium content in these bones, but if the current rate of recovery continues, by San Remo the deficit should only be 15% less than normal. That would allow him to move without a risk of breaking the bones again.

Prevot explained: "The doctors told me the treatment takes normally no less than half a year. But if everything goes the way it has been going so far, I should be sitting next to Bruno in the Octavia WRC." But Prevot warns that it will not be an easy ride: "I will just have to be ready to take the pain. So I bet I will need some remedy and help from Sigi [the team's physio]."

Meantime Prevot is back home in Belgium, exercising every day either by swimming in the pool or out riding a bicycle. He also has the very best of medical care, seeing a physiotherapist every day. She also happens to be his sister Ingrid, so Prevot knows that he is in the best possible hands. If everything goes well as it has done until now, one of the longest rallying partnerships will be back together in Italy.