The BP Ford Abu Dhabi driver Mikko Hirvonen has been gearing up for this weekend's Rally Poland by sitting in front of his TV. Rally Poland is one of the oldest rallies in the world, but there are a lot of stages introduced this year. Hirvonen, 28, seven points behind the World Rally Championship leader Sebastien Loeb, has spent his week watching DVDs of the new sections. And his impressions - based on what he has seen from his sofa - are that conditions will be similar to those he grew up racing on.
"The stages look very fast and similar to Finland, but without as many crests as we get at home," he said. "They are medium width and soft in places so they may cut up during the second pass. "There has been a lot of rain in that area recently and the forecast for the rally suggests showers, so the sandy surface could turn very muddy if that is the case." Loeb had won the first five rallies of the season to storm into the lead for the title, but Hirvonen's consistency is paying off.
Winning in Greece two weeks ago was his first victory of the year, but combined with the Frenchman crashing out, it was a result that put him right back in the frame. "I'm back in the fight and the next two events, in Poland and Finland, are on fast gravel tracks that should suit me." Loeb crashed in Greece as he was correcting a pace note while driving, it is a mistake he is keen not to repeat. The Citroen driver is understandably keen to ensure his notes are correct from the start this time round.
"Without being overly obsessive about it, I have tried to understand what happened. It's only natural, because nobody wants to make the same mistake twice," he said. "There was a place where I wanted to make a correction to my notes, and just after that I clipped the rock which sent us into a roll. I don't know whether I took my eye off the ball for a few tenths of a second. "We will only be able to do two passes in recce here, so we will need to be particularly focused when making our pace notes.
"As usual, I will try to find the pace at which I feel the most comfortable to begin with, and then see where we stand compared with the opposition." Sheikh Khalid al Qassimi, the Emirati driver who finished sixth in Greece two weeks ago, will not be competing for Ford this weekend. He will return for Rally Finland at the end of July. lthornhill@thenational.ae
