Hirvonen 'annoyed' by the pace of his team-mate

Mikko Hirvonen says he is annoyed about being beaten by his Ford team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala.

Hirvonen, who currently leads the WRC drivers' championship, is fifth overall after a difficult day during which he faced the worst of the slippery road conditions on the first loop.

Hirvonen was fifth on all three morning tests to hold fourth, 18.7sec behind his team-mate. However, a slow puncture caused by a cracked wheel on SS5 cost 40sec and one place. Hirvonen will start the second day 1min 10.6sec behind Latvala.

"It's annoying when your young team-mate is beating you,” said Hirvonen. “And it wasn't the car or my road position that was the reason why Jari-Matti is so far ahead of me. He's driven very well. The time gap between myself and Loeb is what I expected but the difference to Jari-Matti is far more than I thought. I need to find more speed tomorrow. This morning's conditions were as I expected. It was difficult in the braking areas and the loose gravel meant there was no traction accelerating out of the bends."