11:03am Wednesday 3rd March 2010
By Matt Westcott
GUY Wilks believes his rivals are right to start looking over their shoulders as he heads to South America this week.
The Darlington rally driver is competing for Skoda in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and after a sixth place finish in Monte Carlo in the opening round believes there’s better to come in Brazil.
“I wasn’t totally satisfied with my own performance in Monte Carlo, but we had no problems with the car, it was a good solid points finish and a good way to start the programme with Skoda UK,” said Wilks.
“I am always striving for perfection. I am a bit of a ‘Jonny Wilkinson’ when it comes to that.
“When you have the tools underneath you to do the job you know you have to do well.
We can win with this car and you need to make sure you pull out all the stops.”
All of the drivers in the top five or six know each other from their time on the rally circuit, and all, including Wilks, are capable of winning.
“As soon as they knew I was coming in this car this year they knew that at some point in the year we would be quick and, hopefully, the time is now,” he said. “We were not as well prepared for Monte Carlo as we are now.
“We showed on a couple of stages what we could do, but now we are back on the gravel and, hopefully, we will be right up there from the start.”
From the snow and ice of Monte Carlo, Wilks is now heading for the heat and humidity of Brazil.
But an intense training programme that has included regular saunas has gone some way to preparing him for what is to come.
“We are going to between plus 25 and 30 degrees celsius, so it will be a bit of a shock to the system,” he said.
“That is multiplied in the car. Obviously, with the engine working so hard you are up to 50 or 60 degrees and you’re in there with fireproof overalls and underwear on, a balaclava and a helmet. The only bit of skin exposed is your face. It’s very intense.”
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