That’s the way Oleksowicz and Obrebowski will face during Rally Catalunya – the final round of SWRC series, which kicks off on Friday. This is the sole event in 2012 calendar held in mixed surface. On Friday the crews will compete on gravel, while on Saturday and Sunday tarmac will be on the agenda, which makes the rally even more difficult.

After a mishap during Rally France where Oleksowicz and Obrebowski scored no points, their situation in SWRC classification is hugely complicated. With 65 points collected in previous rallies, they occupy 5^th position in SWRC. However, the Castrol TRW MOTOINTEGRATOR crew maintained the odds to finish the season in the podium. On Monday the team carried out asphalt testing in Sant Hilari Sacalm, about 100 kms north of Barcelona.

Maciek Oleksowicz:

- I have to admit, we’re a bit nervous as it is a very important rally for us. We’ll do our utmost to gain a good result. It is a vital SWRC round as the battle for podium is still on. We’re glad to be in contention, but we’re aware our odds depend on the form of our rivals. The mixed-surface rally is a totally new experience for us. No one knows how we will handle in these conditions. We did our best to prepare for the rally taking into account sporting and technical factor. It was very important to spend some time in Vittorio Caneva rally school. I hope it will pay dividends in Rally Catalunya tarmac stages. Caneva is really obsessive as far as keeping a correct line is concerned. I remember that after my previous visit in the school I felt much more confident behind a wheel of a rally car, which was easily seen in times I set. The testing in Spain was really good. I reckon we made a good car set-up. We introduced lots of changes in the car. The Spanish stages are very plain and fairly fast, however the grip is moderate. The tests helped us to get accustomed with tarmac tires used in WRC. After tomorrow’s recce I’ll be able to tell something more about the stages.

SWRC standings before Rally de Espana:

1. Craig Breen (IRL) 93

2. Per-Gunnar Andersson (SWE) 91

3. Yazeed Al Rahji (SAU) 73

4.Hayden Paddon (NZL) 68

5. Maciej Oleksowicz (POL) 65

6. Thomas Cave (GBR) 18

7. Pontus Tidemand (SWE) 15

=. Pedro Meireles (POR) 15

=. Juha Salo (FIN) 15

10. Andreas Aigner (AUS) 12