Gronholm boosted by test

The French team has de-camped to the Scandinavian peninsular for two weeks after becoming disheartened with the gamut of problems that have hampered Gronholm and team-mate Harri Rovanpera in recent events.

Gronholm and team principal Corrado Provera are keen to end the team's current winless streak, which dates back to last year's Rally Argentina. The new 307, which replaced the multi-title-winning 206 for the start of this year, has been competitive, but has been hampered by problems with the transmission and gearbox on several occasions.

Although Gronholm won in Cyprus, Peugeot was disqualified from the event for a technical infringement. The Finn now lies fourth in the drivers' standings, 21 points off Citroen's Sebastien Loeb, while Peugeot is 33 points behind its French rival in the manufacturers' title fight.

Gronholm got the chance to try out the five-speed gearbox for the 307 in Finland, which he says "completes the package", but is likely to use the four-speed unit in Argentina next weekend in an effort to ensure reliability.

"We've had all sorts of problems in previous tests, but this has been very good," he said. "I'm cautiously confident about the rallies to come."