Prodrive has unveiled the Impreza WRC car that Marcus Gronholm will drive at the Rally of Portugal. Gronholm will drive the test car in Wales this week, before undertaking a full two day pre-event test in Spain next week.
Two-times champion Gronholm hasn’t started a World Championship for nearly 16 months but Subaru is confident he will quickly settle in with the new car.
The Prodrive Impreza WRC2008 is basically the same car as the one used by the Subaru World Rally team last season but Prodrive has been limited as to the alterations it can make.
‘We have only been able to make minor changes to the car because of homologation restrictions, with the most significant difference being the Ohlins dampers,’ said Prodrive technical director, David Lapworth.
‘In a perfect world, Marcus would have had far more time behind the wheel, however, with his years of experience, I am absolutely confident he will very quickly find a rhythm in the Impreza.’
Gronholm’s participation has been thanks to the support of the Portuguese Tourist Board. The car has been entered under the Prodrive team name and it will be run out of the same service area as the Prodrive-supported Adapta World Rally Team.
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