"I think if I want to win the title I need to go to all the rallies and try and win [including Rallye Monte Carlo]. Of course, like always, it depends on what the weather does," he explained. "Last year when it was a dry tarmac rally it didn't really 'feel' like the Rallye Monte Carlo. You always need some ice and some snow and tricky conditions. That is the
real Monte.
"Hopefully we will have that this year. But still [whatever happens with the weather] I just need to go there and try and win the rally - and if I can't then I will try to be second."
Asked how important it is to get his campaign off to a good start on the Monte, the
BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT-man added that it is crucial.
"It is very important - but of course anything can happen on the Rallye Monte Carlo. It is a difficult rally," he continued. "But if you want to take the title you cannot have any rallies where you don't get any points.
"There is no room for any mistakes or to go off the road. It is going to be tricky but it is the same for everybody. Everybody has to drive in the same conditions. You never know what is going to happen."
Mikko's new team-mate
Jari-Matti Latvala meanwhile has said that he will be targeting a top-five finish. Jari goes to the opening round on the back of a superb end to the 2007 season, when he claimed his first podium in Ireland and won a string of special stages in Britain.
Furthermore since being confirmed with the Ford 'A' team for 2008, the 22-year-old has been busy doing several tests, the most recent of which came to a close on Saturday when the M-Sport-run outfit was back in France to conclude its preparations for the Monte.
"I have a good feeling. We have been at M-Sport and have been getting ourselves familiar with the new car. I have done quite a lot of testing too. I am confident and we have a test on Saturday [January 19] and hopefully we can get a good set-up for Monte Carlo," he told
Crash.net Radio in a separate interview.
