Last updated 19:39, Thursday, 12 June 2008

AN exciting opening half of the FIA World Rally Championship comes to a close next weekend when BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team takes its series lead to the Rally of Turkey this weekend.

HARD ROAD: Ford's Mikko Hirvonen on his way to second in the 2006 Rally of Turkey

This eighth round of the 15-event campaign returns to the calendar after a year's absence and is the last of a quickfire session of three hot weather, rough road rallies in the Mediterranean.

BP Ford Abu Dhabi heads into the rally in a strong position in both the manufacturers' and drivers' championships.

It holds a two-point advantage in the manufacturers' standings with the Ford Focus RS World Rally Car while Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are second in the drivers' table, just one point from the lead. Team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila hold fourth.

After one of the most demanding rallies in the WRC for several years in Greece earlier this month, conditions in Turkey should be less severe - but only just.

The harsh environment of the Anatolian mountain speed tests, high above Turkey's southern coast holiday resorts, traditionally takes a high toll on competitors.

Cooler thanks to its altitude and less rough than the savage conditions encountered in Greece, this nevertheless remains one of the most demanding rounds in the series.

The twisty and steep tracks have a clay base which breaks up to expose loose rocks, especially during the second pass.

Hirvonen has three previous starts to his credit in Turkey with a best-placed finish of second in 2006.

He said: “This rally is very similar to Greece. The surface is hard and the roads are reasonably wide. Some stages can be quite abrasive on the tyres but the problem comes if it starts to rain. Two years ago it rained heavily before the event and the roads were a mudbath.

“I really hope that it stays dry because that means that Sébastien Loeb, my rival at the top of the drivers' table, will be first in the start order in the worst of the conditions.

“I've struggled in that position on the last two rallies during the first day so it will be interesting to see how he copes. I prefer this situation of being a point behind him in the championship and having a better start position, than being a point ahead and having to start ahead of him.”

Latvala has competed in Turkey just once, in 2004, but believes that his lack of experience of the roads might assist his efforts. He said: “Maybe I'm not able to attack as much as in Italy and Greece because my experience isn't high but possibly that will help. If I'm not attacking as hard, it might help me have a clean run through the stages. A podium is my target and I won't be disappointed if I'm not able to fight for victory.”

As part of the sport's new regulations, BP Ford Abu Dhabi will have just one tyre pattern from Pirelli - the Scorpion gravel tyre in hard compound.

n Ford ambassador Marcus Grönholm will drive a Focus RS WRC at the two-day Chatsworth Rally Show in Britain this weekend. The demonstration event will be held at a former RAC Rally venue.