COMPARING the stage times of Skoda drivers Toni Gardemeister and Kenneth Eriksson on the World Rally Championship this season may lead you to believe they are similar characters behind the wheel of the awe- inspiring Octavia.

Throughout the season their stage times have been consistently similar but the chance to sit alongside each driver on a special stage just outside Prague provided an ideal insight into the different characters and driving styles of the two Skoda stars who will be in the UK next week for the Network Q Rally GB the final round of the championship.

First up is Eriksson, a relative veteran in the world of rallying at the age of 46.

His career has spanned spells with the likes of Volkswagen, Toyota and Mitsubishi before switching to Subaru in 1996, Hyundai in 1998 and Skoda this year.

For 2002 he has joined forces with top female co-driver Tina Thorner to drive for the Czech team and is competing in all 14 rounds of this year's rally championship.

The 46-year-old Swede suggests he's a little nervous before his first run of the day on a 6km stage. It's tight and twisty asphalt with one good fast straight and gravel on the corners to keep him on his toes.

Strapped in tightly we take off with Eriksson concentrating on warming up the tyres and brakes before really showing the pace of the latest specification Octavia he will drive on Britain's round of the WRC next week. The 300bhp car is soon showing its true colours with acceleration and braking to take your breath away.

Trees skim past the side of the car as the Skoda slides almost sideways around some of the most gravel covered corners on a stage lined with rather solid looking trees. He places the car with precision to protect the slick tyres which can easily pick up a puncture on the loose stones and attacks the whole stage with a sense of purpose.

Then it's into the co-driver's seat of young hotshot Gardemeister. The tall blond 28-year-old from Finland made his name in the SEAT team and has a natural talent behind the wheel.

He was Finnish F2 champion in 1997 and has driven for Nissan, Toyota and Lancia before the move to SEAT in 1999 and then into the Skoda team this year.

He's driving last year's car and says it's not as powerful as Kenneth's which has an improved engine and suspension setting.

To the uninitiated there is no obvious difference. The power, speed and handling still impress but Toni brings his own driving style to the car.

From the outset he's in his element, cutting every corner but picking his way carefully through the worst of the gravel debris littered from his previous runs on the stage. He's altogether more flamboyant than his older teammate and colleagues say he is braver than Eriksson who certainly shows the stage more respect.

Toni slides the car more easily and chats away about the car, the stage and the prospect of him picking up a puncture on the gravel.

Events like this are probably the only time he gets to speak on a stage. In competition he is totally focused on the pace notes being read by co driver Paavo Lukander.

We reach speeds of 200kph on the straight, a fast section lined by trees and exceedingly narrow for the relatively large Octavia. He says in real competition he would be about three seconds quicker over the 6km, proof, if any was needed, that he was really trying and loving every second of it. He wasn't the only one.