Hirvonen impressed with live stage

Under the power stage concept, which is new for this season, a stage of between two and five miles on each rally is shown live on television in the host country and across the world. ESPN is showing the footage live in the UK.

Bonus points are on offer for the fastest three drivers on the stage, which will normally be the last one of the event.

Hirvonen said: "I'm not sure about the points on offer, but the stage is very, very good. I'd say it's the best stage on the rally. It has some fast, slow, wide and narrow [sections] - it's got everything. I can't wait to get in there."

The Ford driver added, however, that he would not be taking the kind of big risks which the live television producer might be hoping for.

"Maybe if I was in seventh or eighth place or something like that," said Hirvonen, "maybe if I was down there, then I would push harder - but if you're on for a win, you're not going to risk 25 points for three, are you?"

World champion Sebastien Loeb agreed with Hirvonen. The Frenchman could also see the reasoning behind the power stage, but Loeb said it would be better to run the test after the classification had been decided for the event.

"Running this when the event's finished is better," he said. "Then you have your points and you can make another push. Okay, this can be good for the television, but you're not going to take the big risk."