At the moment it looks as though it was a problem with a part – not my fault and not the team's fault. It was just cruel bad luck and a real shame for everyone that it happened to us when we were doing so well, although the boys will have a proper investigation when they get the bits back to M-Sport's base in Cumbria.
We re-started on the Sunday under the Rally 2 regulations and it was nice to take second in the Power Stage, especially as with my starting position that really shouldn't have been possible. I guess that makes me the fastest road sweeper in Mexico! There is still a long way to go in the championship – Mexico was only round three of 13 remember - and they have been won and lost on a single point before, so those two bonus points from being second in the Power Stage could prove very significant as the season draws to a close.
In terms of the event itself, I have always enjoyed Rally Mexico and did again this year – despite what happened on the Saturday. The stages are amazing and I love competing on them. The atmosphere is incredible too, with thousands of spectators out watching the stages and present back in the service park in Leon. Now though, it is on to Portugal and after the misfortune last weekend, I am certainly looking forward to it.
Portugal is another gravel event and it is just really good all round. The stages are good, there are lots of fans, the location is good - I just really like it. I also know from Mexico that we have the speed to take the fight to Ogier and can't wait to get back out again. Indeed I think the Fiesta RS WRC is looking very good in comparison to the Polo R WRC and the DS3 WRC and it is not just me that has shown that. My team-mates highlighted that in Mexico too - with Thierry [Neuville] challenging Mikko [Hirvonen] for second on only his second time on the event, while Nasser [Al-Attiyah] was almost half a minute faster than the times he set on some of the stages last year! Evgeny [Novikov] was also quick, but he too had problems.
We will have a test before Portugal now and that should allow us to make further progress and give us a chance to work on the set-up and get a good feeling for the conditions before the event. I believe that we have a good chance of winning there and that's what we'll be pushing for.
Ogier may have started strong, but I do think we can beat him. Also if you look at the points in the drivers' championship, it is important that someone gets up there and beats him soon – and preferably it will be me!
That's all for now...
Mads Ostberg
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