“The possibility [to win] was there on Friday, when I saw Marcus went off. It was a big shock for me to see him off the road,” he noted. “Then again, when we had the dust on the last stage on Friday and I saw Petter had it as well. After that I thought: ‘Okay, there's a chance'. You should know how many times [Ford boss] Malcolm [Wilson] called me in the car telling me not to slow down, but telling me what to do! I had to bring the points, but I had the chance and didn't want to let it slip. I needed to take a few risks, it wasn't easy. I couldn't really control my speed until Sunday, the rest of the time I went flat-out.”
Pressed on what it felt like to be leading and to be in control of a WRC event for the first time in his life, Mikko likened it to being in a film: “It was fun from Friday morning. That's how it is, when I get behind the wheel, I enjoy it - especially when there's a fight. When it all works, it's like a movie - the car just goes around the corner. It is such a fantastic feeling!”
Hirvonen's co-driver, Jarmo Lehtinen meanwhile revealed that it nearly all went wrong on the very first test on Friday, the 15.92 kilometre run through Murray North: “We had a moment on the very first corner on Friday - we were so close to going off. After that it was completely under control though. We have been in the same situation all year. This time the opposition was tougher and the stakes were higher. It helps to be in this position so many times this year, we could control our speed,” he summed-up.
