MB:
For me it is a massive blow, because Marcus is one of the real characters of the WRC. He has always got something to say and it is not just the usual PR stuff. Usually he has got some quirky comment or something. He is a real character and I think the sport will miss him. His driving as well is something. I don’t know if you have ever seen him on the stages – it is something to see, he is a bit special. He will be missed. But there will be three or four young Finns coming up just as quick as him I am sure.
Crash.net:
Is Mikko Hirvonen ready to step up and take the fight to Sebastien Loeb next year?
MB:
I don’t know. Hirvonen has got a lot of experience but he has never really set those amazing stage times where you just don’t know how they have managed it. Where as [Petter] Solberg when he was coming through and even when he was very young, he was setting some times that really maade you stand up and look. I don’t know. Mikko has shown in Finland and various places when he is familiar with the event and comfortable with the stages he can set some really good times. But he has just not got that 'extra special something' that makes you a Sebastien Loeb or a Marcus Gronholm.
Crash.net:
Petter and Subaru have had a big of a nightmare season. Do you see any light at the end of the tunnel for them?
MB:
I think character building is the word for Petter isn’t it? He can’t seem to do right at the minute. As I said, he stood out as someone special when he was coming through. The times he set were fantastic. That is just not something Hirvonen and Matt Wilson have done. I’d like to see Petter in a competitive car because I think we all know he has still got it and it is just getting the bit of kit under him so that he can set the times with.
Crash.net:
Are there any other drivers’ that have impressed you in the WRC this year? Jari-Matti Latvala maybe?
MB:
Yeah, Latvala, like Hirvonen, he has had the odd stage or the odd rally where he has set some really impressive times. But it has just been a race between Sebastien and Marcus hasn’t it? Chris Atkinson has done well this year and has shown Petter up on a few events. But he has not got the car to match the times of the top two. So it really has been a two-horse race to be honest.
Crash.net:
Returning to the BRC, it is a three-way battle for the main title, between Mark Higgins, Guy Wilks and Gwyndaf Evans. Who would you tip to do it?
MB:
I’d like it to be Gwyndaf because obviously he use to drive for MG and when we started with the scholarship we had quite a lot of input off Gwyndaf. That has been really beneficial for me. I’d like to see Gwyndaf win it. I think it is about time. He is definitely got the speed. He has just not had the luck. But Mark seems to be turning it on strong and he has got the Subaru sorted now and he will be tough to beat. It is all to play for, like it is in the R2 class, where everything is still to be settled. Nothing is decided yet.
