Ford drivers hope practice makes perfect

Factory Ford drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala have carried out more than 1250km of testing in preparation for the unique mixed surface conditions of the forthcoming Rally Cyprus.

The BP Ford Abu Dhabi team drivers covered the distance during a six-day test in the south of Sardinia in February. Both Finns completed one day on asphalt and two days on gravel. Latvala, 23, covered 240km on the sealed surface and 370km on the loose while Hirvonen, 28, tackled 220km on asphalt and 430km on gravel.

Hirvonen will make his fourth Cyprus Rally start this week and finished third last time out in 2006. Currently lying second in the drivers’ championship, six points adrift of Sebastien Loeb, Hirvonen admits it will be strange to drive his Focus RS WRC in low ride height asphalt specification but with Pirelli's gravel tyres fitted.

"It's going to be difficult but a lot depends on how hot it is,” he said. “The temperatures during our test were about 10ºC and the tyres worked well. The car moves around more on gravel rubber and it's necessary to turn into corners earlier and to brake sooner. It's difficult to predict what will happen because we've never had to do this but I'm ready for the challenge.”

"I found a good set-up for the gravel stages during the test. The stages in Cyprus are so twisty that there are sections where a driver thinks he's going too slowly. But to push too hard risks the car sliding wide and losing momentum. It's important to be patient and believe that other drivers are having just the same thoughts. It's said a lot, but this rally is unique in the championship," he added.

Latvala took the opportunity to sit alongside Hirvonen during the gravel section of the team's test. "Normally I don't get the opportunity to do that. Mikko has a different driving style to me and in tight corners he brakes differently. He uses the handbrake to get round corners and I don't. Mikko also keeps the car much straighter than I do. I drive more aggressively but that's something I'm trying to change," said Latvala.

"Cyprus is the only rally in the WRC calendar on which I've not competed. It's three months since the last gravel event in Britain so my test was a good opportunity to get a feel for the surface again. It's a technical rally and asphalt driving with gravel tyres will be a new challenge, the kind of thing that makes this sport so fascinating. I learned on the test that I must still use my asphalt technique and keep the car straight with precise lines. Too much sideways driving will destroy the tyres," he added.

Khalid Al Qassimi and Michael Orr will drive a third car on the Abu Dhabi driver's second WRC appearance there.

Click here to hear from Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson as he explains the challenge of the Cyprus Rally to wrc.com.