Juho Hanninen has high hopes despite starting order... and all the other news from the IRC

Factory Skoda driver Juho Hanninen believes he can fight for a podium finish on Sata Rally Azores next week, even though he is set to run first on the road on the island-based event.

Hanninen, who led the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in Monte Carlo in January before crashing out, is scheduled to be the first of 49 drivers to tackle the 18-stage event in his Skoda Fabia S2000.

Road position, especially on gravel events, can have a huge bearing on the final result of a rally. That's because it takes approximately two or three cars to clear away the loose surface gravel on a stage, which means the drivers running higher up the starting order are left at a disadvantage because of the reduced levels of grip under braking and traction entering and exiting corners.

"It's not going to be so easy in my position," said the 27-year-old from Finland. "But I don't believe it will be such a big problem either. Yes my car will be sideways more but it is a very good car and I am very confident I can get a good result."

Hanninen and team-mate Jan Kopecky, from Czech Republic, are due to test in the Azores on Monday, May 4, when they will fine-tune the set-up of their Fabia S2000s.

03 May 2009