The Rally of Argentina is one of only two classic rallies that have not been won by the Peugeot 206 WRC team – a fact Richard Burns and Marcus Gronholm intend to change this weekend.
The Rally of Argentina is one of only two classic rallies that have not been won by the Peugeot 206 WRC team – a fact Richard Burns and Marcus Gronholm intend to change this weekend.
“The level of the competition we face is extremely high,” a spokesman for Peugeot Sport’s rally department said this week. “The 2003 championship has seen the emergence of four very strong teams and, while we can count on a competitive, reliable car and an experienced line-up of drivers, this four-way scrap promises to be a fiercely fought affair all year long.”
Its recent one-two result in New Zealand took its points tally for the year to 49, leaving it with a 5-point advantage over Citroën (44 points) and a 23-point cushion over Ford (26). With respectively 26 and 20 points to their names, Burns and Gronholm currently figure in first and second positions in the provisional points table ahead of Sébastien Loeb (17 points), Colin McRae (17) and Carlos Sainz (16).
Of Peugeot’s three-strong squad in Argentina, Burns has the most successful record on this event. The 2001 World Champion won outright in 2000 and finished runner-up in both 2001 and 1999.
Gronholm is in excellent form and dominated last month’s Rally New Zealand, which he led from start to finish. Last year in Argentina, he claimed nine fastest stage times and led for much of the event before being excluded. The reigning World Champion, who finished fourth here in 1997 before finishing second in 2000, feels extremely confident about his chances this time round. “I was in a position to win this rally last year and I firmly believe I can do the same this year,” he said.
Harri Rovanpera has fond memories of his visit to Argentina in 1997 when he took victory in the two-litre category. He also competed in the South American round in 1998 and 1999, but then missed the 2000 event before returning with Peugeot in 2001 and 2002, two events he failed to finish. This year sees him determined to put a halt to that run as well as to his unsuccessful spell since the start of the 2003 season.