Marcus Gronholm may have blown his chance to be world rally champion for the third time, but he still has plenty to drive for in Rally New Zealand this week.
The tall Finn saw his world championship hopes disappear when he crashed on Rally Australia last month, allowingthe injured Sebastien Loeb to retain his title without competing.
But Gronholm is determined to clinch the manufacturers' title for Ford in New Zealand - and to provide the manufacturer with its first Rally New Zealand win since Kiwi Jim Donald won back in 1981 at the wheel of an Escort RS1800.
Gronholm said his teammate, Mikko Hirvonen, had his confidence boosted by his victory in Australia and was a star of the future.
Citroen will be represented by Dani Sordo and Xavier Pons with Loeb scheduled only to do the reconnaissance of the route in preparation for next year. Loeb said he wanted to start in the rally but with the title secured, the team decided not to risk his injured arm and threaten his career.
Gronholm, who won here in 2000, 2002 and 2003 for Peugeot, will be under pressure from the 2004 winner, Petter Solberg, who has had a disappointing season for Subaru but finished second in Australia.
Solberg said the current Subaru Impreza World Rally Car had been designed by someone schooled in Formula One who went the wrong way with the design. The aerodynamics were good but it had taken all season to improve the geometry.
Starting fifth on the road on the first day could benefit Solberg if it is fine and the roads are dry, with the four drivers in front of him sweeping the loose gravel aside.
"If it's damp or wet it won't be any benefit," said Solberg. "But I'm very confident. We were strong in Australia and hopefully we can improve a little bit more on that."
Most of the drivers have arrived to prepare for the reconnaissance tomorrow and Wednesday, but Italian motorcycle star Valentino Rossi will not reach Auckland until tomorrow morning.
The Propecia-sponsored event, based at Mystery Creek, begins on Friday and finishes on Sunday.
