Mastering gravel roads key to NZ rally

Mastering gravel roads is the key to winning Rally New Zealand.

World series leader Marcus Gronholm of Finland brings a slim points lead to his favourite rally roads for the 38th Rally New Zealand.

The 11th round of the world championship will be based in Hamilton, heading into the King Country, Waikato and Franklin districts.

A costly mistake on the final stage in the recent German rally saw Gronholm slip to fourth while 2006 champion Sebastien Loeb forged to his sixth straight win.

Frenchman Loeb has closed the championship standings gap to just eight points.

He will need to continue that momentum in New Zealand if he is to secure a third successive world rally championship.

He has been all but unbeatable on tarmac surfaces, but faces three of the final six rallies on gravel, the favoured surface of the flying Finn.

"I hope I am strong enough on asphalt but there are three gravel rallies on the calendar still to race as well and I have to fight with Marcus," Loeb said.

"It will be tough but I am confident."

Two other factors should concern Loeb's Citroen team – first, Loeb has not run on many of the roads on Rally New Zealand after he missed last year's event through injury.

He did complete reconnaissance but has not driven most of the first two legs in race mode.

Of potentially more concern is a second successive engine failure in Germany for Loeb's team-mate Dani Sordo, who runs an identical car.

"The problem was the same as in Finland, it was the cylinder block," Citroen team principal Guy Frequelin said.

"We must find a solution very quickly. Having a problem like this for two rallies in a row is very unusual. We have to solve it."

The heat is also on Gronholm, who was looking strong in second place behind Loeb in Germany, until his uncharacteristic mistake on the final stage cost him four championship points.

"We were closer to Loeb here than on previous asphalt events and that's encouraging," Gronholm said.

"Now we have to be sharper on the next round in New Zealand and make no mistakes."

Gronholm will be chasing a record fifth victory in New Zealand, on roads he says are the best in world rallying.

- NZPA