Swedish Rally victor Harri Rovanpera is near-certain to get more than the seven minimum World Championship rallies stipulated in his contract, Peugeot Sport chief Jean-Pierre Nicolas has stated.
The 34-year-old Finn, who was a surprise signing for Peugeot this year, was recruited to bolster the team’s line-up on loose-surface rallies and he could be rewarded for his sensational Swedish triumph with a run on the Safari.
“Sure he will do Portugal and Argentina, then sure he will do Finland, sure he will do Australia, but I think he will do also the Acropolis. We are looking for Kenya, but not sure,” Nicolas commented.
Rovanpera could also be promoted to the number two role, possibly scoring points in the World Championship for Manufacturers on certain rallies rather than Didier Auriol.
“This is not a problem. Why not Finland? Why not Australia? It is like the coach in football: you take him when he is in good condition,” Nicolas said, but he emphasised his belief that Auriol could have done just as well in Sweden if he hadn’t been ill.
But while Rovanpera’s Swedish win echoes Marcus Gronholm’s first victory for Peugeot on the same rally 12 months ago, it is less likely that he will suddenly emerge as a world title contender. He has already missed the Monte Carlo Rally, unlike Gronholm, and he will certainly be rested in favour of Frenchman Gilles Panizzi for the tarmac clash in Catalonia.

Swede Thomas Radstrom is odds-on to get another drive with Mitsubishi this season after finishing a close second on the Swedish Rally.
Despite only a day’s testing, Radstrom ran neck and neck with team leader Tommi Makinen and bolstered Mitsubishi’s lead in the World Championship when Makinen crashed on the final stage.
Radstrom already has a contract with Citroen and while he is keen to get another run in a Carisma, he said that he didn’t know when he would be free to do so. However, Ralliart Europe chief Andrew Cowan is determined to use the Swede again.
“I must. I must give him another drive just to say thank you,” he said following the Swedish.
It was the first time that Ralliart Europe has run three cars and it is not expected to do so on a regular basis when it is also committed to developing the all-new Lancer Evo VII this year. Cowan’s stated policy is to consider running an extra driver on particularly specialised rallies, such as the Swedish, that don’t particularly suit regular number two Freddy Loix.

Alister McRae is convinced that the Accent WRC2 will be an automatic improvement, even though the new machine will get only limited testing before its first appearance, on next month’s TAP Rally of Portugal.
“It’s a development of what we’ve got already. We’ve got a lot more suspension travel at the rear and a bit at the front. All the engine stuff’s been run and the engine has been improving steadily,” he commented.
The extensively revised Hyundai is expected to gain power and torque thanks to new manifolds and electronics, while cooling and top speed are expected to benefit from wind tunnel development. British tuner Motorsports Developments is shying away from an active rear differential and a semi-automatic gearchange for the time being, but the car is expected to break new ground electronically for a rally car, as it will use a single ECU for engine management, transmission control and data-logging.

Hyundai announced its new World Rally Car before the action started in Sweden today. The team has high hopes of the new machine which is "evolution rather than revolution" according to Team boss David Whitehead.
The new Accent, which will be homologated on March 1st, was tested for the first time today in Milton Keynes and features revisions in three main areas - engine, suspension and aerodynamics.
Engine changes centre on manifolding and electronic engine management systems. Suspension has been revised to provide more travel, and aerodynamic improvements are aimed at cutting drag and upgrading cooling.
"It's a significant step forward," said Whitehead of the car, which is due to have a second test at Turweston airfield near Milton Keynes on Thursday 8th February. "We've got to get a podium finish and more than one. I'd like to think of a win in the second half of the season."
The new car will be used on all rounds of the series after the Portugal debut except the Safari which the Team is missing this year as it works up to a full season in 2002. ends

Citroen drivers Philippe Bugalski and Thomas Radstrom provided growing evidence that the Xsara T4 will be ready to win as soon as it joins the World Rally Championship trail by covering no fewer than 4,000 kilometres on the car's first test in Africa.
Kenya hosts the most gruelling World Championship rally of all, yet the Xsara test car is said to have suffered only minor failings after two weeks on sections of last year's Safari Rally route.
Radstrom, who tested on exceptionally rough roads near Kajiado and Suswa, hit an unexpected hazard in the form of rain, which made his test somewhat muddier than expected and kept temperatures cooler, but French Champion Bugalski encountered blistering heat the following week. Citroen sources claimed that there were no engine or transmission failures and that problems were confined to dampers and other suspension parts, much as the team had anticipated.
"It was like the first test on really rough stuff. For me, the general feeling was quite good," Radstrom said.
"The car has some small problems, which is normal, but no big problems. We have some things to improve in the suspension," a Citroen source commented.
Citroen is not contesting the Safari this year. Its only World Championship appearance on rough going in 2001 will be the Acropolis, in mid-June. The Xsara T4 will make its first world-level appearance on the Catalonia Rally in March.