The Skoda WRC team may not be able to match the pace of Peugeot and Citroën, but Toni Gardemeister says the Octavia’s good reliability could hold the key to a strong points finish this weekend.
The Skoda WRC team may not be able to match the pace of Peugeot and Citroën, but Toni Gardemeister says the Octavia’s good reliability could hold the key to a strong points finish this weekend.
The Acropolis rally has a reputation for being a car-breaker and as the Octavia is amongst the most reliable cars in the field, observers are expecting Gardemeister to be in the top six by the end of the event.
Team-mate Didier Auriol finished ahead of Gardemeister in last month’s Argentinean Rally because the Finn was slapped with a minute’s penalty for a route infringement. However, Gardemeister should have the measure of his team-mate in Greece.
The Finn was this week quoted as saying that his performances in the Octavia this season have been the best yet of his WRC career.
Gardemeister has scored driver points in every round since the Swedish Rally in February and he’s planning to employ a familiar tactic in Greece this weekend to continue his good run of form.
“I think I’m driving better than I’ve ever done,” he told said. “I have a very good feeling with the car and the team. The Acropolis is never an easy rally, but I will use the same tactic that has worked well for me so far this year – flat-out!”
“It will be important to find a good suspension set-up to ride the bumps. We’ll be working on that during the official shakedown,” he added.
Shakedown for the 50th Acropolis Rally takes place on Thursday morning, before the crews make their way down to Athens for the event’s traditional ceremonial start.
