Richards: Subaru's best form in years

He has been encouraged by the rate of development of the new Impreza during the six week summer break and believes the 1000 Lakes terrain will suit the car well.

"Our work since Turkey has been fruitful and I'm confident that we go to Finland in our strongest position yet in recent years," he said.

"Finland is one of the true classic events and has always been a favourite of mine. From the days of Markku Alen, Hannu Mikkola and Ari Vatanen, the local drivers have excelled here, but I'm sure that Petter (Solberg) and Chris (Atkinson) will be fast in the new WRC2008 as it is well suited to fast and flowing roads."

Former champion Solberg is also looking forward to a return to action after the summer break in Rally Finland.

The Norwegian will be driving the new Subaru Impreza in its third WRC event and is confident that the six-week gap since Rally Turkey has given the team ample time to continue the development of the car.

"The team have been working hard since Turkey, doing lots of testing, and we all feel that good steps forward have been taken," he said. "I hope we'll have good pace there and can get another strong finish in the new car.

"Finland is a good event, and one that we've gone well on in the past. It's not an easy event, as we have also seen in previous years, but for me it's a proper rally. Fast, flowing, blind jumps, and so many crazy fans."