The all-gravel Acropolis Rally, held in Greece, is round four of the Junior World Rally Championship and is renowned for being one of the hottest and toughest events on the calendar. Suzuki drivers P-G Andersson and Guy Wilks are currently tied on points for second place in the championship, and both have a very real chance of emerging from the harsh conditions of Greece in the series lead.

But nothing can be taken for granted on an event that has carved a fearsome reputation as a car-breaker. Football-sized rocks litter the road, while temperatures regularly soar beyond 30 degrees centigrade. The punishing route pushes the strength of drivers and cars to the maximum. Despite the unbelievably rough conditions, the Acropolis is still a sprint event where crews have to go flat-out from the start. With the Junior World Rally Championship more competitive than ever, and the series lead poised on a knife-edge, the three days of Greece should provide competition as hot as the ambient temperatures.

Reigning Junior World Rally Champion P-G Andersson would like nothing better than to give the Ignis another class win in Greece, and he is feeling confident of his chances. "I like the roads a lot," said the Swede. "However, it's going to be extremely tough. This rally is difficult at the best of times and the opposition just gets stronger and stronger. The points situation is so tight at the top that I am just going to have to go for it, which is the way that I like to drive anyway. Hopefully we will come away with the right result!"

Englishman Guy Wilks, who won the Acropolis Rally last year, said: "We've got to try and win the class again. This rally is going to be quite important; it could be a turning point of the season. While the Acropolis is as quick as any other event now, there is still an element of tactics. You can definitely make it rougher for yourself than it really is if you place your car on the wrong part of the road. But I think we're in good shape, with a great chance of doing very well."

Suzuki Sport Europe will run a pair of Ignis Super 1600 cars for Kosti Katajamaki and Urmo Aava – who also drove the Ignis last year. Czech team JM Engineering will additionally run one Ignis entry for Italian Alan Scorcioni and finally, there will be another Ignis run by Czech team Jipocar for Martin Prokop.

Suzuki Sport President Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima commented: "After two rough and hot non-Junior World Championship rallies in Cyprus and Turkey I think we are well-prepared for the challenge of Acropolis. We also have a short test planned in Greece before the start of the rally in order to refine the car settings to the unique conditions we are likely to find there. We are not going to have an easy time of it all, because our rivals are looking very strong. But I've got every confidence in our car and our drivers to get the job done."

The Acropolis Rally gets underway with a ceremonial start and indoor superspecial stage in Athens, at the Olympic Stadium on Thursday 23 June at 1745 (CET+1). This exciting new superspecial provides an excellent opportunity for fans who would not normally go out on the stages to get a taste of what rallying is all about. Crews then go on to tackle 19 special stages totalling 349 kilometres before the finish back in Lamia on Sunday 26 June at 1445 (CET+1).