Ford wants to react in Sardinia

If the news this Wednesday in the Olbia service park concerned the presentation of the new Fiesta R2, all the members of the Ford team are already focused on the rally of Sardinia which they wish to win in order to put an end to Citroën's winning streak.

Spearhead of the British team, Mikko Hirvonen sets out to attack the mountain Loeb : “I’m not thinking about the championship. What Ford needs today is a result. The car made further progress following the four-day test session held in Sardinia last week. It is still too early to know the benefits of the session. We will know more on Friday morning as the shakedown times should not be significant. »

Excellently placed in the starting order on the first day, Jari-Matti Latvala knows he has a good card to play: “ Unlike Mikko, I didn't do much testing. The objective of this session was to determine settings that allow the Focus to slip less from the rear. You have to manage to wedge the car in the middle of the road without getting swept away as was the case. I am aware that I will have an advantage on Friday but I am not going to give up. I want to finish this rally which will be very strategic. The driver who is in the lead on Friday will risk losing everything by sweeping the following two days unless he has a minimum lead of one minute and thirty seconds..."

Christian Loriaux, technical director of M-SPort, confirmed the validity of the preliminary tests carried out with Markko Martin: “I wanted to get the opinion of a driver who didn't know the car and therefore didn't have any preconceptions before testing different settings for the suspensions and differentials. On arrival, Markko and Mikko validated the same set-up. »

Contested in summer temperatures according to local weather forecasts, the Sardinia rally promises to be hot between the two rival teams. Answer Sunday…