McRae: We'll be quick in Turkey.

Colin McRae has promised that his Citroen Xsara will be quick on its first gravel WRC event of the season, but the Scotsman is not making any predictions on the outcome of the inaugural Rally of Turkey.

Citroen leads the manufacturers' World Rally Championship and McRae and team-mate Sebastien Loeb lead the drivers' standings after the Monte Carlo and Swedish Rallies, however Turkey, making its debut in the WRC, should be a tougher challenge.

McRae: We'll be quick in Turkey.

Colin McRae has promised that his Citroen Xsara will be quick on its first gravel WRC event of the season, but the Scotsman is not making any predictions on the outcome of the inaugural Rally of Turkey.

Citroen leads the manufacturers' World Rally Championship and McRae and team-mate Sebastien Loeb lead the drivers' standings after the Monte Carlo and Swedish Rallies, however Turkey, making its debut in the WRC, should be a tougher challenge.

"The more I get to know the car, the more I have been able to fine-tune the settings," he said. " I think the Xsara will be competitive. We will be fast in Turkey, but we will have to wait and see where we stand in comparison to our rivals.

"I've never been to Turkey before," he continued. "This will be my first visit. Before a new rally, or a new stage, I tend not to take any notice of what people say about them. In my experience, the descriptions you hear rarely resemble reality. We'll just have to wait and see..."

Loeb took part in the Anatolian Rally last September - a dress rehearsal of this year's event - and although he retired on the first day of the rally, he has a little more knowledge of the stages than his WRC rivals.

"OK, having done the recce in 2002 and having covered five stages in a Saxo Challenge last year is a 'plus' but not a major advantage," conceded the Frenchman. "Being first on the road on the opening day won't be ideal. I will be sweeping aside the loose top layer. That will be a problem for sure, but it won't be the insurmountable handicap it was in Sweden. We have worked well on the car, and I think my team mates will be in the thick of the fight at the sharp end. My objective will once again be to match their pace..."

"The stages are narrow and quite twisty in places, although they're not twisty all the time as in Cyprus," he explained. "The stage varies from rocky portions to hard-packed, slippery gravel. You can't stray too far off line because you've got the mountain on one side and drop-offs on the other. Having said that, that's what I remember from last September. Back then, the going wasn't all that rough. It could be different after winter but the organisers are certainly making a special effort to ensure the stages are in as good a condition as possible."

The rally kicks off with a Super Special on Thursday [February 27] before heading to the mountains to the west of host town of Kemer for the remainder of the event.

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