Swedish rally ace Kenneth Eriksson is returning to the Silverstone Race to the Sky at Easter this year with high hopes of a much improved result in the former Possum Bourne WRC Subaru.
Eriksson had a disappointing race last year, when the car was dogged by mechanical problems, which prevented him making the strong challenge he hoped for.
Vantage Motorsport which owns the distinctive hillclimb Subaru believes Eriksson will get a much better shot at the event this year.
General manager Craig Vincent says a new engine has been fitted which will be much more reliable and capable of around 580hp.
“It’s really the only major change we have made and it should be stronger and hopefully a lot more reliable than last year. We will test it before the event as well.”
He says Eriksson is very keen to compete again.
“He feels that we didn’t do it justice last year and everything was probably a bit rushed. Everyone thought it was going to work and it didn’t.”
Mr Vincent says they are hopeful that this year they can get close to the ‘King of the Mountain’ title.
“We’ve done a fair amount of analysing from the split times that we have from last year. We know what we need to do. But we all know Monster Tajima can go a lot faster and he will be very, very difficult to beat. But worst case scenario we want to be second.”
“We know that we have the goods to do it. We know that our car has done 8 minutes 30 secs before, in a much poorer form than it currently is, and we think that it can go a bit quicker than that.”
Eriksson arrives in New Zealand at the beginning of March to begin his preparation for the Silverstone Race to the Sky.
A former friend and competitive rival of Possum Bourne he won the World Group A champion title in 1986 and was third in the overall World Championship in 1995. He was the winner of Rally New Zealand in 1997 driving a Subaru.
Race to the Sky promoter Grant Aitken says it is great for the event to have Eriksson back this year.
“He was a big drawcard last year and his appearance again will add some real interest at the top end. There’s certainly going to be some tight competition for the podium placings this year amongst the leading drivers.”
Entries in the 2005 Silverstone Race to the Sky have been increased from 100 to 120 to cater for increasing demand from both New Zealand and offshore drivers. Entries close on February 18.
The 2005 Silverstone Race to the Sky is scheduled for Easter Weekend, March 26 and 27 at The Snow Farm in Cardrona Valley, close to Queenstown and Wanaka.
