Finn has no intention of taking prisoners in Sardinia, Greece and Turkey.
by Rob Wilkins
BP Ford Abu Dhabi's Mikko Hirvonen has said that he is going to go flat-out on the next three events prior to the summer break, beginning next week with the Rally d'Italia Sardegna.
Mikko heads to the sixth round in the World Rally Championship back on top in the race for the 2008 drivers' crown, following his first win of the season in Jordan at the end of last month.
Now the 27-year-old has a five point lead over arch rival Sebastien Loeb and the Finn is determined to stay on top and keep the Frenchman behind.
"I have been waiting to win [all season]. I was second in Monte Carlo and I was planning to win in Sweden, but Jari-Matti [Latvala - my team-mate] was really, really fast over there. I am glad I managed to get my first win of the year in Jordan and I am back in the lead again [in the drivers' championship]," Hirvonen told Crash.net Radio recently.
"I am definitely going to be flat-out in Sardinia, Greece and Turkey. Thinking about the championship it would be really nice to go into the summer break in the lead. I will try and win all of them - and if I can win one or two and stay close to Sebastien that would be fantastic."
Despite his confidence though, Mikko remains realistic and he knows the outcome in the Middle East could have been very different, if Loeb had not had that accident on the road section on day two.
"It did a little bit of course," he added, when asked if he had gotten a boost by winning in Jordan, "but to be honest Sebastien was very fast on the Saturday morning and he was getting away. I am sure it would have been difficult to fight against him.
"But we managed to change the car a little bit on the Sunday and now we have a test before Sardinia and so I am pretty confident. I am sure we can find some more speed and maybe get even closer to Sebastien in the coming rallies."
It is not just Loeb however, that is a threat and with Chris Atkinson only 2 points behind Seb in the drivers' championship, the Aussie could well be a contender too. There is also Swedish Rally winner Jari-Matti Latvala to consider - and even Dani Sordo, at least in terms of event wins.
"Chris has been very consistent. He use to drive absolutely flat-out and made some mistakes - but now if he doesn't feel so confident with the car, he takes it a bit more easy and he has been getting some very good results driving like that.
"Who knows when they get the new car, Chris might be there and fighting for the title as well. He is getting closer and also Jari-Matti is very fast on all the rallies too.
"I am still waiting to see a bit more consistency from Dani on gravel but he did very well in Jordan. Maybe he has found the speed now.
"I am sure there will be many rallies when it is not only two guys fighting for the win. It might be five or six. That would be very interesting. There are still a few drivers who can fight for the title too," Mikko concluded.
TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW IN FULL WITH MIKKO HIRVONEN: CLICK HERE
