Compared to Manfred Stohl the Acropolis Rally is smooth sailing so far for OMV World Rally Team newcomer Xavi Pons.
The Spaniard lies in 13th place overall after seven of 19 special stages. And he is getting better by the kilometre: he reached an excellent tenth place on the last special stage in spite of brake troubles.
Tomorrow the OMV driver means to push a little more without risking too much. The OMV-duo Manfred Stohl and Ilka Minor will take advantage of the SupeRally regulation to start on Saturday and use the second leg as a training run under racing conditions.
Xavi Pons, the newcomer to the OMV World Rally Team got more and more of a grip on both the rally and especially the Citroen Xsara WRC during the afternoon. It is after all the Spaniard`s first outing with this car. Pons: "I`m slowly closing in on the limit since I`ve never driven the Xsara under racing conditions. But I can`t really complain, the rally is running smoothly so far." So smooth, in fact, that the OMV driver reached an excellent tenth place on the last special stage.
Troubles with the brakes
Xavi Pons performance is even more impressive since he, like OMV World Rally Teammate Manfred Stohl before him, had to deal with brake troubles. The wheels tend to lock up too early during braking and the rear starts to swerve. But the mechanics of Marc van Dalen`s Kronos-Team are doing their best to solve these problems so that the Spanish OMV driver can go at it again on Saturday. Even though he remains realistic: "A top-ten-place would be grand, no doubt, but our main goal is to get the car across the finishing line."
Thanks to the SupeRally regulation Manfred Stohl and Co-driver Ilka Minor will compete again tomorrow despite today`s accident. The chances of WRC-points may be gone but the OMV-duo will take up the opportunity for “training runs” under racing conditions.


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