Harri has high hopes

"I've a really nice feeling here, and the aim is to try and win it," said the 37-year-old Finn. "Because the future is settled, it boosts your confidence and I feel happier."

There were no major problems for any of the top crews on the shakedown, held at Langford Park, though the short, damp, stage did begin to cut up. Petter Solberg set the pace in the Subaru and is hoping the rest of the stages on the rally are as moist as this one.

There's been recent rain and there's more forecast which has also boosted the hopes of top starters like Richard Burns and Carlos Sainz. They were facing a serious disadvantage on the small marble-like stones that cover the stages and which make the going, in the dry, much more slippery for the first cars through the stage, with grip improving substantially as the stages are 'swept'. That problem doesn't exist in wet conditions.

Skoda's Tony Gardemeister reported no big problems with his broken wrist, which is still protected by a light platsic cast. "It feels fine said Gardemeister, "but the real test will be after a full day's rallying." His team-mate Didier Auriol expects no difficulty with his shoulder which was operated on after Rally Finland.