Hirvonen's braver approach starts in Sweden

Last year's World Rally Championship runner-up Mikko Hirvonen is hoping a braver approach to his driving will enable him to turn the tables on title rival Sebastien Loeb in 2010.

Hirvonen, team-leader of the BP Ford Abu Dhabi squad, lost the 2009 title to Loeb by a single point but ended the season with a more reliable scoring record. Apart from an engine problem in Argentina last year, Hirvonen has finished every round of the series since 2007 - while Loeb has failed to finish four rallies. This year, however, the Finn is prepared to take a riskier approach as he bids to take his first world title.

"On occasions I wasn't brave enough to make the decisions I needed to with my car set-up or to drive more aggressively," he said. "I've learned from that and this year there will be no second thoughts. The difference between myself and the title winner last year was a single point. That translates to tiny decisions on the stages but it's those small things that make the difference between winning and coming second, and when you're brave enough to take the chances, you can feel the difference.

"I'm definitely fired up. We had a great year last year and I enjoyed the fight. In the end there was big disappointment in GB but that's made me want it even more. I just want to get started again and see what we can do," he added.

Hirvonen's WRC title bid starts on 11 February, when he and team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala begin the opening round of the series, Rally Sweden - the only pure winter rally in the 13-round series and one of the most specialised of the year.

Twenty-nine-year-old Hirvonen is a Sweden veteran and the event is one of his favourites. This is his seventh start, with his best result coming in the rally's last appearance in the championship in 2008 when he was second. "Sweden is a great rally for me to start the year," he said. "A driver can be more free in the snow because there is no need to be quite so precise with driving lines as on gravel or asphalt. You can carry more speed into the corners and use the snow banks to guide the car round. The grip is incredible."

Latvala, meanwhile, claimed his maiden WRC win in Sweden in 2008 and the 24-year-old is refreshed and raring to go after more than three months since the end of the 2009 season. "I love driving in the snow and I would like to think a top three result is a realistic target. But my priority throughout this year will be to finish each rally in a strong points-scoring position to ensure the team scores well on each event and to help Mikko with his challenge for the drivers' title. Sweden is one of my favourite rounds and one of the most spectacular in the championship," he said.

Abu Dhabi's Khalid Al Qassimi will drive a third Focus RS WRC for the team. "The first WRC rally of the year is always a really exciting time and I can't wait to get started," said 37-year-old Al Qassimi.