Juho Hanninen believes the inclusion of Nicolas Vouilloz in Skoda Motorsport's factory team on the Monte Carlo Rally will boost to the Czech firm's chances of victory.
Vouilloz will join Hanninen and Jan Kopecky in the three-car Skoda squad on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge opener, which gets under way on Jan. 19. The Frenchman is an established asphalt expert and won the IRC drivers' title in 2008.
Hanninen, who led part of last year's event before crashing, said: "When we are trying to get the best result possible for Skoda then, of course, it helps to have a driver like Nicolas in the team. He has a lot of experience and that can only help Jan and me."
Skoda will be looking to better the fourth-place finish Kopecky achieved on the event last year. It completed its pre-Monte Carlo preparations with a test in Czech Republic last week.