Kronos boss defends Pons

The team's lead driver Sebastien Loeb has dominated the championship so far, scoring 56 points from a possible 60. Teammate Pons languishes in 14th place, having only scored five points this year.

Meanwhile, reigning JWRC champion Sordo has excelled in a third Citroen Xsara, and is third in the title standings with 24 points thanks to a string of good results, including second in the Rally Catalunya.

Sordo has yet to secure the budget for the full season, but his performances have led many to question whether he should be in the second official car to help Kronos' chances of taking the manufacturers' title.

Kronos will stick with Pons in the second car however, and team boss Van Dalen believes that his maiden stage victory in last month's Rally Argentina will give the Spaniard the self confidence he needs to improve his results.

Pons was fastest overall in the 13th stage of the event, beating both title rivals Marcus Gronholm and Sebastien Loeb.

"If you look at numbers then you will come the conclusion for the moment than Dani should be in the second car." Van Dalen said. "But you also need to take into account that Dani drives the 2005 Xsara with electronic differentials.

"Sebastien has already noticed several times where those add to the performance. Dani is very talented but he still has a lot to learn and realised that in Argentina. After two outstanding results on asphalt, he experienced a difficult terrain with tricky weather and road conditions.

"Carlos Sainz has said when Dani clinched the JWRC title that he needed time to learn. That's what we are doing by letting him drive with no pressure on his shoulders.

"Xevi can bring us the little extra on top to help. He hasn't been really fortunate so far but he won a stage in Argentina in front of Marcus Gronholm who encountered the same difficult road conditions as him.

"I'm convinced of the psychological impact of this performance. It will help Xevi to find the self confidence he still lacks."