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Q & A with Mikko Hirvonen

Q. What was the Monday test about?

Mikko Hirvonen: I just wanted to finalise the set-up which we?d worked on during my two days of testing. I'd got the set-up right, but then I got to know the two roads which we'd been using it on. Monday was a chance to see how the set-up felt on a road I didn't know.

Q. And how was it?

MH: Good.

Q. Good enough?

MH: We'll see on Friday. It felt good, but you never know until the rally starts.

Q. You've worked with this car for a long time now, how do you find another step?

MH: The engineers have worked so hard on this test. They have come up with lots of new solutions and things for us to try. Of course, you're not going to find any major steps, we don't have a new homologation to come with the car, so we're working with what we've got. But, we've been able to work on combinations of ride height, roll bars, suspension clicks, diff maps and things like that. I wouldn't say the car felt massively different from the last time we drove it, but it was a positive step. Like I said, it's all about Friday.

Q. What's the plan for Friday? It was tough last year. You'd pretty much lost this event by Friday lunchtime.

MH: Yeah, we were something like 25 seconds down at service and then 44 down at the end of the day. There's no doubt, if we do that again, it's all over. I want to make a good start on Friday morning. At the moment I'm happy with the way the test has gone, the way the car is feeling and everything - now I've got to make that translate into the stages.

Q. There's a chance of some rain later in the event. What sort of weather would you like?

MH: I would prefer it to stay dry. I don't mind so much. I want it to be consistent. Then again, if we have full rain, the [control] tyre we're using could be quite dangerous if there's a lot of rain.

Q. How do you feel about the rally? You look relaxed, but this could well be the pivotal round of the championship.

MH: I feel fine, relaxed. It's another rally. Okay, we have a lead in the championship, but it's five points and it's Sebastien that we're against. But, it's a good chance we have.

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