Furthermore having been robbed of a virtually certain second place finish on the Monte two weeks ago due to an engine problem, the Spaniard is determined now to do as well as possible and at the very least get manufacturers’ points for
Citroen.
Ideally though he will want to break into the top-eight and open his account for the year. He is more than aware though that it is a very difficult event for ‘outsiders’.
"When the studs bite, you can do what you want with your car [in Sweden] and it is tremendous fun. However, if a coating of snow prevents the studs from digging in, it can be more difficult to be precise in your driving - and when you add the extremely high speeds we reach in Sweden into the equation, then this clearly isn't an easy event," he explained.
"It calls for significant experience of this sort of terrain and it's no coincidence that few non-Nordic drivers have won in Karlstad. This will be my third attempt and my objective will be to score points for Citroen Sport."
BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT:
[
Mikko Hirvonen, car #3 and
Jari-Matti Latvala, car #4 [and
Khalid Al Qassimi, car #23 - not nominated for manufacturers’ points]
Mikko: I really need to win in Sweden.
Mikko Hirvonen has admitted that the Swedish Rally is one of the ones he will need to win if he is to stand a chance of taking the 2008 drivers' title.
Mikko's performance in Monte Carlo recently was hailed by team director Malcolm Wilson and now the Finn will been keen to build on the runners-up spot he took at the Principality and go one better in the Varmland region of central Sweden.
Hirvonen has done the Swedish Rally five times to date, taking his best result last year when he brought his Focus RS WRC car home in third. A week later he went on to win the inaugural Rally Norway, the last winter event in the WRC.
As such expectations are very high, not that Mikko believes he is 'the favourite' to take gold.
"Everyone is asking if I feel I'm the favourite," stated the 27-year-old. "There are a few possible winners and I'm one of them, but I don't regard myself as the favourite.
