WRC – Hirvonen: NZ, “a matter of pure speed”

You finished in second place in the Rally of the Acropolis, but you do not hide your preference for faster terrain? like the one we are approaching!

Yes, Rally New Zealand is simply fantastic. My favorite event is obviously Finland, but this is really one of my favorites. The specials are fluid and they allow? or rather impose? a sustained rhythm from the first to the last meter. It's a great pleasure to drive like this and I'm really looking forward to it. This year we have more than 400 kilometers of special stages on the program and that is all the more exciting!

We often talk about the particular profile of New Zealand roads, with inclined bends which follow one another, forming a sort of helix. Is it really special in terms of driving?

Most rallies have their own specificity and the New Zealand Rally is indeed characterized by the bulging of the dirt roads. You have to be very precise during reconnaissance to note on which side of the road you should place the car when braking. If you are on the wrong side, you can end up on a slope and you are guaranteed to go off the road! We must succeed in ?taming? this relief to pass even faster in the turns. When you get there, it's exhilarating.

The last editions of this rally have been marked by suspenseful ends of the race. Do you find an objective reason for this?

I think it is linked to the nature of the roads. The course is absolutely not rough and it is rare for contenders to win to encounter big problems at the start of the race. New Zealand is all about pure speed, we are flat out from start to finish. The gaps therefore remain very small between those who have been able to find the right pace. The race can therefore be decided in the last stages. When there are several of us to ?pull apart? to achieve victory, anything can happen!