Didier Auriol, the last ‘non-Finn’ to win the Rally of Finland, says his main aim is to get the Skoda Fabia WRC to the finish line in only its second outing, this weekend.
Didier Auriol, 1994 world rally champion and the last ‘non-Finn’ to win the Rally of Finland, aims to finish this weekend’s event in only the second outing for the Skoda Fabia WRC.
Skoda launched its all-new Fabia World Rally car in Germany last month, but both Auriol and team-mate Toni Gardemeister retired from Rally Deutschland due to mechanical failures.
“I love Finland and I always have a good feeling with this event. But we have to be very realistic about our chances,” said the Frenchman. “There’s no reason why we can’t be successful with the Fabia WRC in the future, but for the moment we are still in the early stages of development.
“My objective is first of all to finish the rally, as this is essential to help us learn more about the car. Finland is a completely different type of rally and it will be interesting to see how the Fabia copes with this sort of challenge,” he added.
Auriol won the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1992, but team-mate Gardemeister hasn’t enjoyed the same level of success on his home event – his best finish was sixth in 1996.
“The more I drive the Fabia WRC, the more comfortable it feels but there is so much more still to come. Of course it’s always nice to drive on your home event: I get so much support from all the fans. I like the rally a lot, but my luck has been up and down there in the past,” Gardemeister told .