Ford aces select lowly Acropolis start positions

Ford World Rally Team drivers Petter Solberg and Jari-Matti Latvala have selected lowly starting positions for the opening day of the Acropolis Rally, round six of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia.

Solberg was permitted to select his starting position first after going quickest on the Qualifying Stage this morning. In front of a large crowd of fans gathered in the service park in Loutraki, the Norwegian opted to run 13th on the road to benefit from what he considers to be the most advantageous running position due to the road-cleaning effect, which is a common factor on gravel events.

“It’s the best position for the cleaning and if it is raining then it will dry very quickly,” said Solberg, who is hoping for better grip and braking precision running further down the order in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. “We’re on top form, the team is on top form and the car is on top form. I think this can be my rally now.”

Eight-time world champion Sebastien Loeb starts 11th for the Citroen Total World Rally Team, one place behind Russian star Evgeny Novikov.

Paulo Nobre will run at the head of the field for WRC Team MINI Portugal. The Brazilian was the last driver to select his starting position after posting the slowest time in the Qualifying Stage.

The full start position selection is as follows:
1: Paulo Nobre (MINI John Cooper Works WRC)
2: Armindo Araujo (MINI John Cooper Works WRC)
3: Daniel Oliveira (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)
4: Nasser Al-Attiyah (Citroen DS3 WRC)
5: Martin Prokop (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)
6: Ott Tanak (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)
7: Mads Ostberg (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)
8: Thierry Neuville (Citroen DS3 WRC)
9: Mikko Hirvonen (Citroen DS3 WRC)
10: Evgeny Novikov (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)
11: Sebastien Loeb (Citroen DS3 WRC)
12: Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)
13: Petter Solberg (Ford Fiesta RS WRC)