Petter Solberg: “I’m sure Argentina will be a very exciting rally, especially with the changing weather and the Superspecial in Buenos Aires. I think our trip to River Plate Stadium is very important for the sport because it will give many people an idea of what is going to happen up in Cordoba. Some of them might not have seen rallying before. It’s hard to make a prediction for this rally, but I hope for the best. The team is fully motivated and we are ready for a good fight.”
Chris Atkinson: “Rally Argentina was a mixed event for me last year, with some promising moments. I finished sixth, but didn’t have a clean run, so could have potentially taken more points. I quite enjoy the stages, there’s a real mixture of roads and there are some tests where you get a bit of everything thrown at you. On this event I’ll have Stephane [Prevot] co-driving for me for the first time in a competitive situation. I’m looking forward to working with him and we’re aiming to be competitive and bring the car home in the top five.”
Atkinson ima novega sovoznika (iz Sarazzinovega sopotniskega sedeza) ...
Stephane Prevot will co-drive for Subaru World Rally Team driver Chris Atkinson from Rally Argentina, which takes place on May 3-6.
The Belgian, 38, has close links with the Subaru World Rally Team, having sat in Impreza World Rally Cars alongside Bruno Thiry in 1999 and Stephane Sarrazin for the 2006 season. Prevot has competed in more than 100 World and European events in a co-driving career stretching back to the late 1980s.
During the team’s recent test session in Sardinia, Atkinson and Prevot spent three days working together in the Subaru Impreza WRC2007.
"Right from the start of the test we seemed to work well together and we improved with every day,” said Atkinson. “Stephane’s an experienced and professional co-driver and he adapted to my driving very quickly. Of course there’s still work to do, as Stephane gets used to my notes system, and my words and phrases, but it’s good so far. We already have a good understanding in the car and I’m feeling positive about our rally debut in Argentina.”
Program (glejte EUROSPORT 2, kjer bodo vsaj trije prenosi superspecialov V ZIVO, prvi ze danes zvecer
) ...Many of the special stages will be familiar to the crews, because they have been included in the event in previous years. The tests run through Cordoba’s three valleys: Punilla, Calamuchita and Traslasierra. One major change, however, is the inclusion of a Superspecial inside the imposing River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, an event that will mark the start of the rally on Thursday 3 May. Up to 55,000 passionate rally fans are expected to create a festival atmosphere inside the legendary football venue, which is known by locals as ‘The Monumental’
On Friday the crews will head out into the countryside to contest seven gravel stages, before the day ends with a Superspecial in Cordoba football stadium. There are nine more tests on Saturday, and then three more on Sunday before the competitive action ends with another Superspecial in Cordoba Stadium at 1305hrs (local time). The total distance to be covered during the event is 1383.14km, which includes 346.55km of competitive stages and 1036.59km of liaison.
Gasa
