Hirvonen is behind championship table leader, Sebastien Loeb by a margin of 8 points but despite this deficit, and Loeb’s extraordinary skill on the surface, Hirvonen still has hope that the title may yet come to him this year if, and only if he can manage second place in both the rounds.
“After the summer break I knew that all the rallies would be really important, but after NZ the situation changed again,” said Hirvonen. “I could have narrowed the gap to Sebastien to two points - instead it’s eight. If he gets away now on the tarmac rallies then that’s it, really. Okay, I don’t have much to lose but I really need to score well. I have to go for win, but then again if I have one zero now then it’s definitely over, so I can’t allow that to happen either. It’s going to be very difficult but if I can be second in both rallies then the game is still on. I’d be pleased with that - that would keep good pressure on him.”
Hirvonen will be looking to emulate his own showing at Rallye Finland and New Zealand. The strategy used there was rather risky and if things go wrong, they can be bad for the team. “Since the summer break our speed has been absolutely mental all the time - especially in New Zealand and Finland. It could go wrong in any corner but when you get to that limit somehow it just works. I’m sure it’ll be the same in Spain - I’m sure it will be very good or we’re going to get zero points.”
Duval has admitted a preference to narrow and tight asphalt roads rather than the wide and fast tracks that will be presented in the next challenge. Yet, he will be looking to end up quite high in the final standings. “That doesn’t alter my plan which is to try to take a podium. The 2008-specification Focus is a big improvement over the 2007 version which I drove on asphalt earlier in the season, and if I can match the pace of Dani Sordo then I should be around the top three.”
Ford come off of a couple of asphalt tests that had been conducted to prepare the team for the asphalt rounds. The tests lasted three days and Duval led the drivers’ list into the runs. 300 km covered in the first run was quite a long test for Duval who then moved to Spain for another three days. “I would prefer dry conditions because I don’t have any real experience of the 2008 car with Pirelli tyres in the wet,” said Duval. “I was hoping for some rain in Spain during the test. The first couple of hours on the opening day were damp, which helped, but I still haven’t driven the car in heavy rain.”
Khalid al-Qassimi and Michael Orr will be in the third Ford Focus RS WRC and after a 14th place finish in Spain last year, will be looking for an improvement. “This will be my sixth asphalt event in just over a year but I’m still learning, said Al Qassimi. “Before I was just happy to be driving and competing, now I’m trying to get more pace out of the car.”