Richards: Atkinson will win in '08

Atkinson has taken two podiums from the first three rallies this season, with second place in Mexico this weekend the best result of his WRC career to date.

"Chris did a fantastic job and I firmly believe he can win an event before the end of the year," said David Richards.

Subaru have not won a rally since 2005, and did not expect to make much progress this season until the introduction of the new WRC2008 later in the championship.

But they have started the season very strongly, and Atkinson hopes they can maintain that momentum.

"It's a great start to the year for me and also for the team, and I hope we can keep building on this," Atkinson said.

"We're making good steps forward and the car felt really good this weekend. We did some work on the dampers after Sweden and that was a big help - they were good here in the heat which is always a tough test.

"Now we look to Argentina and to keep this performance going. The sooner I can win the better."

Atkinson's teammate Petter Solberg also showed good speed early on and was on course for fourth place until stopping with driveshaft failure on day two. He rejoined under Superally rules today and was classified 13th.

"We've had a very encouraging start to the year and we're putting ourselves in a very strong position for when we launch our new car, the WRC2008," Richards added.

"Petter (Solberg) did a good job today, and from our performance here in Mexico it is clear to me that we have made some positive steps forward since Sweden, and will continue to do so as we look to Argentina in a few weeks time."