MW:
I don't know. I think it is going to struggle to happen, definitely for this year. Whether we can work to do something for next year we will have to see. But obviously the idea was to keep the costs down, that was the whole reasoning with the one-make tyre. I think it is going to be very difficult to do something. But it would be nice to think if we do get special conditions, like we did have there, the possibility is there just to do something to make it that little bit safer.
Crash.net:
Another thing new for you this year, in addition to a new co-driver and the new tyres, was the new Focus. Has that made much difference?
MW:
Not really. It is a small evolution from the '06 car - very, very minimal and obviously you can't really tell any difference in terms of the look of it. There are some subtle changes and they have been beneficial. But to drive you don't feel too much difference. There has not really been any adapting to do. It is just an evolution from last year - not anything substantially different.
Crash.net:
How do you see the rest of the year shaping up and what goals have you got?
MW:
Really we just need to keep on going the way we have been. We need to put Argentina behind us. It was a bit of a disaster for the whole Ford team, not just us. We just need to concentrate on Jordan and the other three rallies before the summer break and try and do the best we can. We want to get some more points. That has to be the aim. We have been in the points positions on every rally, apart from Monte Carlo. It would be nice to try and carry that run through and then try and take some more steps in the second half of the year.
Crash.net:
What have you made of the competition?
MW:
There have been some really good fights. The fight we had in Sweden with Andreas [Mikkelsen] was good. Unfortunately we didn't get to take that one to the end because of the problems we had. But it has been fantastic, especially having a new team-mate in Gigi [Galli]. That has boosted everyone. The same old culprits are there as well that we have been battling with for the last couple of years. Now we are trying to move that up a little bit and step into the next group.
Crash.net:
Have you been surprised by Subaru because they seem to be making progress after a few difficult years?
MW:
No, I think you could see at the end of last year, Chris [Atkinson], was starting to drive very well. They have been quite strong events though that we have had so far for
Subaru. They have always gone reasonably well in Mexico and Argentina. I think they probably suffer a little bit less with their engine at the altitudes than maybe some of the others. You can't take it away [what they have achieved] - both of them [Chris and Petter Solberg] have been driving very well. It is good to have them back up there and fighting at the sharp end.
Crash.net:
Final question, do you think anyone can stop Sebastien from taking that fifth drivers' title?
MW:
Yeah I think so!
[laughs] There are two boys in the BP [Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally] team, who will do a hell of a good job trying. If you look at the pace Mikko [Hirvonen] had in Argentina - ok, he made a mistake, which is very, very rare for him - but if you look at his speed, he would have only had to have cruised to the end, given the times he did on the first couple of stages. He could still have been leading the championship if he hadn't made that error. There is a possibility to take the fight to him there then. We have seen Sebastien can make mistakes too, especially in Sweden. There is a strong chance and with the speed that Jari-Matti [Latvala] is showing he can have a go too. There are people out there that will give it a good try.
