Rautenbach 'excited' ahead of Spain.

Conrad Rautenbach has said that while he will be after a 'good result' this weekend in Spain, he will be competing with half on eye on the event that immediately follows it in Corsica.

Rautenbach has been busy since the last round in New Zealand and with lots of running in his PH Sport-run Citroen C4 WRC car, the 23-year-old is optimistic about his prospects on the Rally Catalunya, the twelfth round in this year's World Rally Championship.

Indeed he is hoping to use it as a springboard so that he can go to the Rallye de France-Tour de Corse right on the pace.

"I'm always excited when I arrive at another round of the World Rally Championship - but it's even more exciting to arrive in Salou for Rally Catalunya," he said prior to the off. "The reason is: seat time and the fact that I've had a bit more than usual coming into an event.

"I was in the car for the Corte Rally in Corscia [where I finished second overall] two weeks ago and then I was north of Barcelona for a test on Monday, where I drove the car for about 120kms.

"After those two events - and competing in Germany [back in August, the last time the WRC was on asphalt] - I feel like I'm understanding the Citroen C4 WRC much more on tarmac. I know what the car needs and what it likes, which is really important.

"Shakedown went really well this morning, but because we did the pre-event test, we only needed a couple of runs at shakedown - just to confirm our settings.

"The first stage tomorrow [Friday] morning could be quite tough. There's a lot of twisty stuff and slow downhill corners - that's really going to work the tyres hard. In the main, though, the stages here are quick and wide. It's in these places that you have to put your faith in the car and believe you can make it stick.

"It's really amazing what this Citroen C4 WRC can do, its capabilities are awesome. For me, though, the bigger picture is next week in Corsica - that's absolutely one of my favourites.

"I like Catalunya, but I love Corsica. I want to get a good result here, but I'm always going to have half an eye on next week."