Stohl expects slow start to '07

The Austrian last drove the car for Kronos Racing in 2005, and after testing on the eve of his return to the team he feels that it will take three events to get up to speed.

"The Xsara is definitely a fast car but we still have to fathom the riding quality which is new to us," said Stohl.

"The car is extremely hard and reacts to the slightest movement. This costs the driver and co-driver a lot of energy."

Stohl has completed around 100 kilometres of testing pre-season, and private team Kronos are unlikely to be able to carry out much more running due to finance.

Stohl added: "I think we will need 1,000 kilometres before knowing where the limit is. Since, as a private team, we don't have the opportunity to do this much testing we will have to use the rallies for that.

"That means we will need three rallies in order to come close to our potential. This means a further challenge - which I am more than happy to meet."

The new season gets underway this weekend in Monte Carlo, and Stohl feels that dry weather conditions will not play into his hands as he struggles to find the limit of the Xsara.

"The rally will be very fast if the roads stay dry," he said. "The average speeds will be very high and thus we can prepare for a rally that will be very close to the limits.

"Up to now we can't see the smallest speck of snow and the temperatures are so high that there will hardly be any icy passages."