Hirvonen aims for New Zealand success

BP Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen hopes he and his team can get their drivers’ and manufacturers’ championship bids back on track when the World Rally Championship pitches camp in New Zealand this weekend.

Both the Finnish driver and his Ford team slipped to second place in their respective title standings following a disappointing outing last time round on the tarmac roads of Germany.

Hirvonen, in fourth place, finished 90 seconds behind race winner and championship leader Sebastien Loeb, who headed a Citroen one-two finish from Dani Sordo as the Frenchman continued his remarkable unbeaten run in Germany stretching back to 2002.

The result lifted Citroen to the summit of the manufacturers’ standings, eight points clear of Ford, but Hirvonen is confident of better on the gravel roads of the New Zealand Rally.

“It’s important to win rallies for our title challenges but if I can’t do that then I have to score as many points as possible,” Hirvonen told www.wrc.com.

“The roads in New Zealand have a good rhythm to them and they are so smooth that there’s no need to worry about damaging the car on rocks.

“The cambered corners encourage attacking driving but it’s important not to position the car on the wrong side of the camber coming into a corner. If that happens then the car ends up sliding wide or perhaps not even making it round at all.”

Unfortunately for Hirvonen, Loeb is also confident of keeping hold of his championship lead at one of his favourite WRC venues – although the reigning four-time champion concedes the weather could play a deciding role in the outcome.

Recent storms have led to the opening leg on Friday being amended after 80 metres of road were left impassable, and the rain could make road position on the opening day – determined by the championship standings – a key factor.

“I have always enjoyed this rally ever since I first came here in 2002,” Loeb said.

“We will be first on the road, but just how big a handicap that turns out to be will depend on how damp the conditions are.

“There are quite a few stages that we will only contest once, so we potentially stand to lose quite a lot of time.

“That said, the fact that we will be first on the road on day one means that we are on top in the championship, and we intend to do all we can to defend that lead.”