Despite suffering from gearbox problems on the Barum Rally Zlín, the Abarth team aims to bounce back on the forthcoming Principe de Asturias Rally in Spain next week.

Despite suffering from gearbox problems on the Barum Rally Zlín, the Abarth team aims to bounce back on the forthcoming Principe de Asturias Rally in Spain next week. Both Giandomenico Basso and Anton Alén are confident that they can put in a strong performance with the Grande Punto on Spanish asphalt, which is new to the IRC series this year.

The Abarth team had its fair share of problems in Spain, with a number of gearbox issues, but senior figures within the team - as well as both the factory Grande Punto drivers - are confident that the Italian squad will bounce back.

Basso, who recovered to just miss out on posting a fastest stage time in the Czech Republic, said: "We had a problem with the gearbox, but that is just one external element of the car, which we don't make ourselves. The rest of it is fundamentally very good. Of course there are areas in which we could be making more progress, but I think that is true of any team. I don't know much about the Asturias stages but I'm looking forward to them: I think this rally should be a lot of fun."

Abarth has conducted a detailed investigation into what went wrong back at its base in Turin, with the aim of eliminating any future problems as this year's IRC series heads into its final four events. For flying Finn Alén, the Principe de Asturias Rally will be crucial. "I need to get some more experience and confidence on asphalt," he explained. "I missed the Madeira Rally because of illness, and then we had problems in the Czech Republic. So I'm hoping for a good clean run in Spain to have more time in the car and built up a little bit of knowledge of this surface. With two more asphalt rounds to go afterwards, in Sanremo and Switzerland, this is going to be really important."