The surprising twist to Rally Australia will not alter BP Ford Abu Dhabi's plans for the rest of the season, even though their lead driver Mikko Hirvonen now knows he will be crowned world champion if he finishes at least second in both the remaining races. Hirvonen was elevated to winner on Sunday after Sebastian Loeb, his title rival who had finished 12.5secs ahead of him, was penalised because the Citroen cars contained non-conforming anti-roll bar links.
The decision has complicated the title permutations no end as Hirvonen leads Loeb by five points rather than the one he thought he would but Malcolm Wilson, the Ford boss, said the team's strategy will not change. "There's no change in tactics, Mikko's got a bit of an extra cushion but there's still pressure to get strong results," he said. The championship returns to Europe for the final two races of the season: in Spain on October 2 to 4 and the United Kingdom on October 23 to 25.
"The good thing about Spain is that it's exactly the same route as last year - there should be no surprises," said Wilson "And we still have a six-day test beforehand, for both Mikko and Jari-Matti Latvala [the team's No 2 driver]. "We'll be competitive. We need to get out there and try and get Mikko in front of Loeb." That could be easier said than done. Loeb heads to Catalonia hunting a fifth consecutive victory on the Spanish asphalt - his preferred surface.
"Loeb, [Dani] Sordo and [Sebastien] Ogier will all be strong. Citroen are hard to beat there," said Wilson. "Historically, even third has proven difficult - I'd be happy if Mikko finishes top three." The Ford chief, who left Rally Australia's Kingscliff base immediately after the closing podium presentation, only found out about the late position change as he boarded a plane in Brisbane. "As I was I taking off I got the news there might be a problem for Citroen," he said.
"I followed the news on the flight and used the plane phone to check on updates every 10 minutes. I'm not looking forward to getting my credit card bill, but it was worthwhile." emegson@thenational.ae
