Solberg set to bounce back

Solberg commented: "We've made some improvements, the aerodynamics of the car are better, and we've proved that it's good on the quick stuff. A lot of small details have come together to make us faster. We set some good times last year and I enjoy the challenge of the different stages, so I hope for a good finish!"

Subaru World Rally Team principal, Lapworth also expects a good result and feels that this weekend's rally could well make the destiny of this year's titles clearer as the manufacturers go head-tohead on asphalt with their 2004 cars for the first time.

"Germany is the first of the three pure tarmac events," he said, "and is significant for us as it's the first time we'll compete with the Subaru Impreza WRC2004 on this surface. Performance on asphalt is likely to be a deciding factor in the Championship now, especially with three such events coming up from the next seven.

"We're hopeful as a lot of the work we've done on the new car, such as aerodynamics and suspension geometry, has a bigger effect on tarmac than it does on gravel. And, as we've shown the step forward the car has already made on gravel, we're hoping it will be an even bigger step on tarmac."