Burns rates his chances in Cyprus

The former Subaru driver has needed time to settle into life at Peugeot, and has now found a comfortable seating position in the Peugeot 206WRC after struggling on the first few rallies of the season.

His second place in Spain equalled his highest ever finish on tarmac, but as the WRC heads to the first of a block of gravel rallies, Burns says that although he has not had much time in the 206 on loose surfaces, he's confident of a good result in Cyprus.

"The learning curve in Cyprus won't be quite as steep, but there will have to be some sort of settling-in process again," Burns told AUTOSPORT magazine. "Our schedule won't help either - there's only a development test and a one-day confirmation run beforehand and I can't do much set up work there. I'm optimistic, even reasonably confident, but I'm sure Marcus will have something to say about that."

And Marcus does... It will be one of the most keenly anticipated battles of the season so far, as two world champions in the same team compete for the first time on a surface that suits both their driving styles. But the tall Finn reckons Burns will need a few rallies on gravel to find his groove.

"Richard is taking some time to get used to the car," said Gronholm, "and I think he might need a rally or two on gravel before he's comfortable on that surface. He'll be competitive - I'm sure of that - but I am confident.

"I don't know about Cyprus in particular, but I certainly have a very good feeling in the 206 now - on all surfaces," he added. "If you look at my last few drives on ordinary gravel they have gone well. We won in Finland, Australia, and Great Britain last year, and on the only loose rally this season, Sweden, we won again. So of course, I am confident."