No, obviously we are delighted to have the MSA spot and to have the opportunity to score Production points. But points in the P-WRC aren't really a concern. But what it does do is give us a higher running position on the road. If we have a good day on the Friday we can be running much higher than what we could have been had we, for example just been leading the BRC, but not been a P-WRC contender. From that side of things it is a big advantage and while it is great to go up against the guys in the P-WRC, the BRC is purely the focus for us.

Crash.net:
There has been a lot happening with the BRC politically this season as you mentioned earlier. Do you think that has spoilt things and how have you found dealing with that, especially as you are now not only a driver, but a team boss too?

DH:
It is difficult. I have got very strong connections with Mitsubishi. I obviously drive for them in China and I have driven for ADR before. I have a lot of friends there and a lot of people I have worked with before. But the bottom line is: if you do a championship, you do it to the best of your abilities and you do it within the regulations. Yes, it has got political - but that is only because some people have taken the attitude that they will win at any cost and that is what has made things negative. At the end of the day you build the car to the rules. The regulations are there so you have a guide of what you can run and if you choose to stick to that it is the same for everybody. If you don't then consequences can be there and it can get political. It is not very nice and it takes an awful lot of our time up and other peoples time up for something that shouldn't really have got to this stage.

Crash.net:
Are you hopeful that things will be sorted out before Rally GB and the result for the Trackrod will become official?

DH:
The appeal is on Wednesday November 26 and as far as I am aware I don't think it is one of those things that can go on and on. You can't re-appeal after an appeal. I think the outcome will be sorted there and we will know where we stand. Obviously you want to know where you are in the points in terms of the drivers' and teams' championships and what you need to do when you go to Rally GB.

Crash.net:
Nick Rowland has competed for Team TQ.com this season in the inaugural Suzuki Swift Sport Cup - how pleased have you been with him?

DH:
Nick has had an up and down year really. He is very, very young and he had very little experience before he went into these events. Maybe he took on too much doing China and the Suzuki Cup. In hindsight he might have been better off concentrating on just one and maybe getting more miles in that car. But Nick on a good day can drive really well and can set really competitive times. He has shown that this year. But he does have a tendency to lose a lot of time on some stages and he doesn't really know where that has gone or where that has happened. Obviously the Tempest Rally happened while I was away in China and I was watching closely on the computer. He went into the last stage in the lead and I thought: 'Great he is going to win it and pull it off'. But then he had a bad stage on the last one and lost it [due to brake problems after hitting a rock]. Obviously he is absolutely gutted about it and we are, not because of the result, but just because it would have been great for his confidence to do that. I think as a driver once you get a few wins your confidence goes up massively and you become much stronger once you get into that situation. Hopefully next year he can get the budget together and do the Suzuki Cup again. Then he will be able to go out there and rather than drive to get experience go and battle for wins.

Crash.net:
You have been competing in the Chinese Rally Championship this year again of course. Your last run there on the Longyou Rally didn't go to plan and the weather was really bad. That could be good preparation for Rally GB couldn't it?

DH:
I am sure it will be. It was foggy and it was really, really wet. Unfortunately though, the rally there was a bit of a disaster for us, especially as things had gone so well earlier in the season. We tried some suspension developments on the first few stages and it wasn't as good as we would have liked. However we were still in a strong third overall and leading the CRC runners. Then we got the car better and we started to challenge more for the overall honours against the A-PRC guys. But on the last stage on the Saturday it was so muddy you could barely stand up. We just slid into a ditch on the inside. If we had been more aggressive we would have drove through it. But we went a bit cautious because we had a 43 second lead and then we went off and went down into a ravine. We got stuck against a bamboo tree that probably stopped us going another 200 foot straight down. It wasn't very nice because the rescue crews couldn't get to us and we were stuck in there for 7 hours. It was not the nicest of experiences. But you can't win them all, although we had won seven in a row before that. The teams' championship wasn't looking so good after the last event though, when Fumio Nutahara stood in for me [as I was competing on the Trackrod] and he didn't have a good rally. It is a shame as we have sort of lost the championship now. It is gutting when you make a mistake. But I think the championship was always going to be a long shot after what happened on the previous event. But it is still not nice to lose something when you have been so close again.

Crash.net:
Can you tell us anything about your plans for 2009?

DH:
Not really. At one point the BRC was all sorted again and there was talk of a possible P-WRC campaign too. But now obviously with the way things are financially all over the world I think the P-WRC will be knocked on the head fairly quickly. We have to work hard now to try and get the budget secured for next year. We all want to be out there again doing something. It would be a shame to waste what we have learnt this year by not doing anything else again. But we need to work hard to get some more sponsors and some more funds so we can go out on the BRC and have a good go at it. The BRC looks really good next year with the format of events they have and GB not being in there is a massive saving in terms of costs.

Crash.net:
You tested the new Lancer Evo 10 recently - how did that go?

DH:
It was very good. It wasn't the full spec car because they are still waiting for the proper ECU's for them. But the engine of the car feels very strong. Obviously it feels a fair bit bigger than the existing Evo 9, but not so dissimilar to the new Subaru really. All the cars are getting bigger and heavier and you do feel that. But I am fairly sure in time the car will be very good. Whether it will go through some of the same sorts of problems as the new Subaru did to start with who knows. I still think the Evo 9 is a very competitive Group N car and it takes some beating on a fast rally. But on a more twisty and slippery surface the Subaru's are very good. Where the new Evo 10 will come in I don't know. It is one of those things where until it gets out there on the events regularly we really won't know although my first impressions were positive. As I said the engine was strong and it is probably not full spec yet either.

Crash.net:
Are you considering switching to that in '09?

DH: