Next week the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team take on the BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece. The seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship will see Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud return to the squad as a nominated points scoring crew.
Joining the pair as the second nominated points scorers will be Italians Gigi Galli/Giovanni Bernacchini fresh from their fourth place finish in Sardinia last week. Brits Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin round off the terrific trio of Stobart crews as they embark on one of the most demanding and toughest rounds in the championship.
The team’s goal for the event is to again close the gap to Subaru in the Manufacturers’ Championship as they lurk just eight points behind the third placed Japanese outfit. Galli has also closed the gap to just four points on fifth place in the Drivers’ Championship and will be looking for another strong points haul for his championship campaign.
For all three Stobart crews Greece has been a prosperous outing in the past. Competing in both 2006 and 2007, Wilson posted a strong top-ten result on both occasions and he now looks to move one step further and finish with drivers’ points under his belt in 2008.
For the past two years Solberg has managed some fine results finishing fifth in both years, most recently in a Stobart entered Ford Focus RS WRC in 2007. The Norwegian has set a top-five target again this year.
This will be Galli’s third attempt at the Greek event which is also a place he has scored well finishing seventh back in 2005 when he last competed here. Coming off his fine result from Sardinia he will be looking to continue with his electric gravel form displayed on the last two events.
This year the event has moved north of the country’s capital Athens, to the Tatoi military airport grounds. The majority of the 20 special stages will be similar to last year’s route which offered high levels of access to the large spectator numbers that flock to the event. The only all-new special stages for 2008 are Psatha (stages 3 and 6) which was last seen run in 2006 and the brand new 4.6 kilometre Tatoi super special stage adjacent to the Service Park.
Certainly one of the hottest tests all year Greece is renowned for its tremendously rough and rocky conditions which have claimed the result of many in the past. Humid air temperatures run well into the high 30’s causing oven-like temperatures in the cockpit of these world rally cars. The Acropolis event is set to be the toughest test yet for the Pirelli Scorpion tyre which has so far stood up to every blow this season.
This year’s ceremonial start sees a return to the ancient monument site of the Acropolis which was formally proclaimed as the pre-eminent monument on the European Cultural Heritage list. After this send-off, crews will gear-up for a Friday morning start and the first of 339.94 competitive kilometres of Greek gravel action.
| 
|