Hirvonen: I’ve not given up on the title

What have you been up to since Rally Mexico?

“The five-week break meant I could have a fairly light schedule. Apart from promotional work, we obviously did work during specific testing for this rally. I can’t go into details about what we worked on, but the fact is that we have improved the set-up of the DS3 WRC. The car slides less and I felt more confident driving it. As ever, we must be cautious, because the conditions of the rally won’t necessarily be the same as those we had in testing…”

There is already a clear gap to the leader of the Drivers’ World Championship. Have you given up on the title?

“No, of course not! It’s true that Sébastien Ogier has made a perfect start to the season, but there are still ten rallies left. Although we haven’t looked entirely convincing recently, we are going to do everything to improve our fortunes. That’s why I want to fight for the lead in the early stages in Portugal.”

What do you think about the format of the event?

“Like all the drivers, I’m not a big fan of road sections that involve spending several hundred kilometres on the motorway, especially when it’s just to complete a three kilometre-long city centre stage! Fortunately, the ‘real’ stages are very beautiful, so that makes up for it a bit. However, it’s good to have a biggie like the Almodovar stage on Sunday. The bonus points for the Power Stage, awarded on the second running of the stage, will be highly prized. There’ll be something up for grabs right to the finish!”