Furthermore while he managed to finish an impressive fifth last year on his first appearance on the Central American stages, he knows it will be tougher this year, especially on day one, when he will run fourth on the road, before the tests have been ‘swept’ clean.
“I’m really concentrated going into this rally and as with the Swedish Rally, I am aiming for another top-five finish. It’s a new experience for me to start the rally fourth on the road, it’s the first time I have been this high up in the championship, so for the first day it will be difficult with the road conditions,” he conceded.
“This is a rally that I really like though and I’m looking forward to trying out the Focus on the first gravel event of this season. It always feels strange with the loss of power because of the high stages and it’s a bit harder to drive the car, but I know this is the same problem for everyone. I feel happy and I’m not going to rush things.”
Jari-Matti Latvala, who will drive the other
Stobart car nominated to score manufacturers’ points’ is also aiming to add to his tally - and the teams. The Finn is keen to get in the top eight at the ‘very least’, even if he has only done the event once before, in a Group N car.
“We had a good rally last year in Group N but it was quite tough on the car so I think with the world rally car being a lot stronger we will have a more reliable rally this year,” he noted. “I hope this year we’ll have a good result.
“If I drive like I did in Norway and keep the car on the road while avoiding some of the big rocks I think we can achieve top six, but at least top eight would be my goal.
“This sort of surface suites my driving style and to be up the order more than last year will be a great help also.”
Matthew Wilson meanwhile will again be entered in the third Stobart Ford car – competing just for drivers’ points.
Munchi’s Ford WRT:
[Luis-Perez Companc, car #11 and Juan Pablo Raies, car #12]
Luis-Perez Companc has set his sights on finishing in the points on the Rally Mexico, the Munchi’s Ford World Rally team’s second outing in the
FIA World Rally Championship.
