The BP Ford Abu Dhabi driver Mikko Hirvonen is determined to get his double World Rally Championship title ambitions back on track in New Zealand this weekend. After two disappointing rallies in Finland and Germany on tarmac, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority backed outfit will be relieved to return to their favoured gravel surface.
Hirvonen lost first place in the drivers' championship to the champion Sebastien Loeb, while Ford conceded their lead in the construction championship to Loeb's Citroen team. But the Finn is confident that he can overhaul four-time world champion Loeb again. "It's certainly possible," he said. "There's more pressure on me in New Zealand and I need to win. If I don't it is not over, but it is really important for me to get a good result."
The flowing roads of Rally New Zealand, which is based in Hamilton, offer the perfect opportunity for the all-Finnish line-up of Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala to claw back the eight manufacturers' standings points they've surrendered to Citroen. Trailing the Frenchman by four meagre points, 28-year-old Hirvonen believes New Zealand's fast, billiard table smooth stages - which meander gently through lush, green countryside - are the most enjoyable of the season, inviting drivers to attack with every high-speed crest and corner.
And he's hopeful of securing a result which - should he beat Loeb by two places - would see the world championship lead change hands for a remarkable seventh time this season between the duo. "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 the temperatures are cool and it is wet then controlling the car on hard compound tyres won't be easy.
"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," added Hirvonen. Latvala is fifth in the drivers' championship and his best New Zealand finish in three previous starts came last year when the 23-year-old came fifth. "This is a rally that I enjoy. After my disappointment in Germany, it will help to go to a rally I feel comfortable with. I prefer going here than to a tough, rocky rally like the Acropolis in Greece for example," he said. .
Abu Dhabi's Khalid Al Qassimi is not contesting this weekend's rally and will rejoin the championship next month for Rally Spain. mwalker@thenational.ae
