Hirvonen: I can get better on asphalt

Citroen Total World Rally Team ace Mikko Hirvonen says he can get better on asphalt once he’s spent more time behind the wheel of his Citroen DS3 WRC.

The Finn finished third on his first start on a pure sealed-surface rally in Germany last weekend. While his capture of a podium spot kept him in the race for the FIA World Rally Championship crown, he was more than two and a half minutes behind his team-mate Sebastien Loeb after what he described as a “complicated rally”.

“Before the start I said that I would be happy to finish on the podium so I have to be pleased to finish third although the weekend was complicated for me,” said the former factory Ford pilot. “The rally was really difficult from start to finish, with very dirty roads. This is not the kind of conditions that I particularly like, but that’s rallying.”

Hirvonen conceded struggling for confidence on the opening two days of the Trier-based round despite optimism of a stronger showing prior to the event getting underway. He hopes to be a more potent forced on the next all-asphalt round in France from 4-7 October, providing he’s more assured.

“I wasn’t so happy with the pace sometimes, but in the end I came through without any problems and ended up on the podium,” he said. “In many of the slower corners where we were cutting and there was gravel, I was afraid that the car would start to understeer or that we could hit the concrete or a rock. This is something I need to improve before the Rallye de France. I just need to get more mileage in the car, I’m just not confident enough.”