Testing times in Corsica for Skoda.

The Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team has undergone extensive and rigorous testing ahead of the Rallye de France - the 46th Tour de Corse, round three of the World Rally Championship [March 7-10].

As part of the tough 2002 test schedule, which reflects the greater commitment of Skoda Motorsport to this year's World Rally Championship, all three Octavia WRCs of crews Kenneth Eriksson/Tina Thorner, Toni Gardemeister/Paavo Lukander and Roman Kresta/Jan Tomanek, put in hundreds of kilometres in the mountains and passes of Corsica.

Over a full ten days of testing, the teams raced over gravel and asphalt in the breathtaking hills around the former capital city of Corsica, Corte and around the bends and drops leading to the sea in the far south of the island.

Although the weather was predominantly dry and sunny, the cars hit some ice patches at the higher altitudes. In order to give the team the maximum time behind the wheel of their Octavia WRC, over the widest variety of terrain, the team also moved for the final two days to mainland France, where the gravel roads were less humid and wet.

The most experienced driver on the team Kenneth Erikkson, 45, who was in a points position before being forced to retire just a few kilometres before the finish of the Rally of Sweden, said: "We feel that we have a better set up of the car than we had in Monte Carlo. Unfortunately we have not been able to do as many test kilometres as we would have liked but we are looking forward to Corsica. It is a difficult rally, but I like it."

Skoda Motorsport's Toni Gardemeister was also quietly confident. The 26 year old said: "It went well. We worked on the suspension and some small modifications to the differentials and we are clearly going in the right direction because the car is holding much better."

The young Finn clocked up over 250km on gravel before moving to tarmac and putting his Octavia WRC through over 350km of road work. He added: "It just gets better and better. We want to do as much work as possible, it is not a case of just making progress and then stopping, we want to develop the car continuously through the whole year. Already I can feel that the Octavia WRC is much closer to what I want."

Double Czech champion, Roman Kresta, 25, who last competed for Skoda Motorsport at the Rally of Monte Carlo, noted: "I am really pleased by the tests. I used Toni's set up and it suited me very well. But best of all I could really do some distance and in total I was testing for around 330km in Corsica. Equally importantly I was driving on wet, dry and humid tarmac surfaces, so I was getting lots of experience. We even managed to drive some of the test over one of the special stages from Corsica in 2001."

Skoda Motorsport Team Principal, Pavel Janeba concluded: "We had some poor weather for the first two test days on gravel, so we then moved the team to France for some better conditions. We have been focusing on making some adjustments to the chassis and the set up. Our aim is to establish the perfect set up for each driving team. In terms of testing I have no concerns."

Meanwhile Skoda Motorsport's guest driver Gabriel Pozzo has taken the opportunity for further tests in his Octavia WRC, by racing the first sprint rally of the year in the Czech Republic. Pozzo, who is just 22, will be the number zero car out in the Blovice rally, the 65,58 km long asphalt test which spins across the forests and valleys near Pilsen. The young Argentinean, reigning Group N World Champion supported by the Skoda Motorsport WRT, will use the opportunity to extend his familiarity with his Octavia WRC. Pozzo's first World Rally Championship event with the factory supported Octavia WRC will be the Rally of Catalunya (March 21-24).