Although he re-started on the final day and got to the finish, he was unable to score drivers' points, and is now five points behind
Mikko Hirvonen.
Seb will now want to cut that gap and well Sardinia has been good to him in the past, and he has won it twice, in 2005 and 2006, last season he threw away what would have been his third win in a row, when he went off on the final day handing the victory to Marcus Gronholm.
The Frenchman is looking forward though, not back: "I'm not one to dwell on the past and last year's incident is well and truly behind us," he confirmed. "This is a particularly selective rally which I enjoy very much, but this year we will need to see how our tyres perform without run-flat mousse."
"Our misadventure in Jordan is behind us, too," added the four-time world champion.
"We were on top and looking good to extend our lead in the championship, and here we are now with a five-point deficit to make up.
"We will be looking to start bridging that gap in Sardinia and I am encouraged by the C4's competitiveness over a broad variety of terrains, as well as by the work put in to adapt it to its tyres."
Dani Sordo meanwhile is after a third podium finish in succession. Sordo spent much of the fifth round in the World Rally Championship in the lead and he will be keen to emphasise now that he is a potential winner on all types of surfaces - not just on asphalt.
"Leading is nice but not always easy," said Dani. "I had an excellent feeling with my car and the times I posted were big confidence boosters.
"Although I believe I still lack experience when it comes to finishing, adapting the way I drive and regarding how best to approach running first on the road, Jordan was positive on those fronts, too."
Sordo has done the event in Sardinia three times to date and while he was third in both 2007 and 2006 and took the Junior WRC win in 2005, he doesn't particularly like the Olbia-based round.
"It's not my favourite. I think it will be tricky and tyres promise to play a major role," he concluded.
BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT:
[Mikko Hirvonen, car #3 and
Jari-Matti Latvala, car #4 and
Khalid Al Qassimi, car #14]
Hirvonen has a plan.
Mikko Hirvonen has predicted that it could be just as close on the Rally d’Italia Sardegna this coming weekend as it was on the last round.
