Aava planning cautious start

The Estonian has joined Ford's second-string team after impressing in a PH Sport-run Citroen during his WRC rookie year in 2008.

Stobart took a podium finish with Jari-Matti Latvala when the World Rally Championship last visited Ireland two years ago, but Aava said he was going to concentrate on finishing rather than trying to grab the headlines in his first appearance for his new team.

"The plan is to find a good rhythm but it's most important to get the car to the finish," he said. "This is not a rally we want to attack in."

Aava believes Ireland will be a particularly tough place to kick off the 2009 championship.

"When I did the recce in 2007 I found the most difficult part of the stage to understand was the grip," he said.

"The tarmac is changing all the time and it is especially bad on the sections where there is grass in the middle of the road.

"For sure this will be a very difficult rally, maybe even more so than Monte Carlo, and in some places it's like Finland but only on tarmac - with very high speed sections over crests."

He added that he was relieved to have secured the Stobart opportunity given the WRC's turbulent winter, which saw the withdrawal of the works Subaru and Suzuki teams, leaving just Ford and Citroen to support the series.

"This year is an extremely good chance for me in the Stobart team," Aava said.

"We have seen some difficult times lately with teams pulling out, so I know how lucky I am to be with a strong team and will definitely make the most of this opportunity."