Nicolas: Burns can stop Marcus
Peugeot team director Jean-Pierre Nicolas says that Richard Burns can halt team-mate Marcus Gronholm's run of form on gravel events, but only if he can take advantage of his road position on the opening day of the Cyprus Rally
Gronholm has been victorious on a warm, gravelly Rally Sweden this season and scored victories in Australia and Great Britain last year. He currently leads the drivers' championship, which means that he will run first on the road on Leg 1 of the Cyprus event, clearing a faster route for others to follow.
"Marcus will have to open the road on Friday and it's certain that he'll lose some time as a result," Nicholas told AUTOSPORT magazine. "But Richard will be third on the road and that should give him better conditions.
"I don't think there will be much between Marcus and Richard on the second and third days, so it all really comes down to Friday. If Richard gets a good advantage then it could make the difference."
Despite the advantage his road position is reckoned to have over rival Gronholm, Burns is not a fan of the current seeding system, because it punishes the championship leader on loose surface rounds.
"I wouldn't want to be Marcus or Gilles," he said. "You'd bet on somebody in the lower half of the top 10."
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