ABU DHABI // The BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team are hoping to claw back with a strong Southern Hemisphere showing after suffering disappointments in the previous rounds in Finland and Germany. Mikko Hirvonen is optimistic he can catch up to his French rival Sebastién Loeb during the New Zealand leg of the 15-event World Rally Championship series.
He feels the flowing roads of Rally New Zealand will offer the perfect opportunity for him and his partner Jari-Matti Latvala to claw back the eight manufacturers' standings points they've surrendered to a resurgent Citroen led by Loeb, Hirvonen's title rival, the four-time world champion. "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," said Hirvonen. "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."
"The engine improvements on the new car we debuted in Germany have also made a difference - the response has definitely improved and I hope that benefits me in New Zealand. 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," he added. Rally New Zealand is based at Hamilton, 130km south of Auckland. The single service park is based at Mystery Creek Events Centre. The second leg is based north-west before the spectacular final day which hugs the Tasman Sea coastline and includes a remote service zone at Raglan.
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