Auriol – still more Safari work to do

The 1994 world champion racked up miles in Kenya, evaluating development suspension and engine parts on the 206 as Peugeot tries to nail what many agree is the car's sole remaining weak spot - its reliability on rough surfaces.

"We tried some new parts - some worked, some didn't," said Auriol after he arrived back in France this morning. "I think it's too early to say if the new developments will make a big difference, but on the whole I'd say the test went reasonably well. In Safari conditions you always have some problems, but we learnt a lot."

Peugeot has left no stone unturned in its bid to strengthen the 206 into a potential winner in Cyprus, Greece and Kenya. The first 'evolution' of the car will make its debut on the first of those events in June, and its revised suspension is said to be designed to soak up rough conditions more effectively.

Auriol said: "The next few rounds of the championship will be quite important, but very difficult. Argentina is never easy and then we have the championship's three really rough rounds, all in a line. If you have a good car for hard conditions then you could reach the summer in a good position for the title."