Solberg to test Peugeot 307

The Norwegian was fighting for the lead when the front-left suspension on his Xsara collapsed. He will use the same car on next week's Rally Poland, but a switch to the 307 for Finland remains an option.

"I still have to test the Peugeot," he said, "I have to know. I really want to keep the Citroen now. We will find a lot more out in Poland, especially if it's going to be fast like Finland."

It's Rally Finland which concerns Solberg as the Jyvaskyla-based event is all about the flexibility and power from the engine, and the 307's motor has always been famously strong.

Solberg is hoping to test the 307 before he departs for Poland next week.

Despite retiring from the Acropolis due to the high cost of replacing the damaged parts on his Xsara, the 2003 world champion feels he can repeat his battle for the lead in the forests around Mikolajki next week.

"[Ford team principal] Malcolm Wilson will tell you that Mikko was comfortable in Greece," said Solberg, "but I can tell you, I was chasing him and I would have done everything to catch him. If it hadn't been for our steering problem on Friday, we would have been even closer.

"I'm pumped up right now, I feel like I'm really driving again. The mood is right, everything is back like it should be. It was a hell of a good weekend in Greece, okay it was disappointing not to get the result, but it was fantastic to be in the fight. Things are going our way again. The Xsara worked very, very well when the temperatures weren't so high. When it was really hot at shakedown, I couldn't get within two seconds of the leaders - and I was pushing like hell, I was flat out.

"Hopefully, Poland will be cooler and we will see what happens. The car is on the jig right now, getting fixed from Greece and then I want to do a day-long test on Monday in Poland before the recce - that's why I pulled out of the final day of the Acroplolis, to give the team time to get ready."

Solberg added that the front-left suspension failure, which happened on Saturday afternoon, was probably caused by the use of aluminium rather than titanium top mounts.

He added: "You never use aluminium in Greece. I've done a lot of testing for Greece rally before and forget aluminium - it's like butter."