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Martin's need for speed

Ford's Markko Martin is looking forward to the challenge of a faster rally at this weekend's round in Argentina as he bids to keep his championship chase alive

The Estonian is currently third in the drivers' championship, 19 points adrift of leader Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) with his win in Mexico earlier in the year remaining his only victory of the season so far.

After failing to score points in either of the last two rallies in Turkey and Greece the Ford driver knows he has to score points this weekend if he is to keep his and his team's challenge on the road. Helping him on his way is an upgraded Cosworth engine, which will be introduced this weekend.

"I enjoy the faster rallies more than the slower ones," he said. "There's usually more excitement on the quicker events and that suits me. There's nothing too technical about the stages although there are some sections that are quite tricky which require caution. My results on the last two rounds were disappointing so it's important that we achieve a good points finish here to keep both my own and Ford's championship position healthy."

Team-mate Francois Duval has competed just once in Argentina having made his debut there last year. Although his inexperience will be a disadvantage compared to the sport's doyens, he can fend off the younger drivers.

"I practised the rally in 2002 and competed last year but there are quite a few stages in this year's route that I have not driven competitively," the Belgian said. "That's a disadvantage when compared to people like Carlos Sainz and Marcus Gronholm who have driven here many times but for the younger drivers, like me, it means there is no big difference in our experience level.

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