Team boss Wilson expects strong showing from Ford pair

Ford team boss Malcolm Wilson says he expects his factory drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala to be competitive in all types of weather conditions on Rally Japan this week.

Hirvonen and Latvala have both highlighted the slight edge the works Focus has on rain-hit stages.

Although high ambient temperatures and bright sunshine are expected for much of the Sapporo-based event, showers are being forecast on Saturday night, which could play into the hands of the Ford duo.

But Wilson, who is eyeing a third-straight victory for Ford in Japan, said his drivers need to be competitive from the outset.

“The car performs very well in tricky, muddy conditions,” said Wilson. “What’s going to be the deciding factor is the nature of the stages on the final day. They’re very narrow and will suit us because they’re all second and third gear stuff, which is an area where the five-speed [Focus] ‘box is at an advantage.

“But we need to be challenging right from the start and I’ll be disappointed if we’re not. I see no reason why we can’t carry on here where we left off in Finland [where we won with Latvala].”

Hirvonen, the winner in Japan in 2007 and 2008, has described this event and the season-closing Rally GB as “winnable”, a view Wilson shares.

“Mikko is out of [the title race] now so he just needs to win as many events as he can between now and the end of the year,” said Wilson. “Japan and GB are both winnable rallies for him and he knows that. We need to win those rallies.”

Latvala also believes he can be a contender for victory on Rally Japan after finishing second on the event to team-mate Hirvonen in 2008. He said: “We have a good performance from the car in Finland and I’m sure we can find that again [here]. The car is good enough to fight for victory and we need to get that feeling.”