Hirvonen is the fastest in Mexico

 

Finn Mikko Hirvonen was the fastest in the Mexican rally qualifiers. The Citroen racer was 0.7 seconds faster than second-placed Evgeny Novikov with Ford. Thierry Neuville and Mads Ostberg share third place with 3.2 seconds behind Hirvonen.

"We are doing well so far. The beginning is perfect. Now we have to deal with the other stages in this style, ”said Hirvonen after the qualifying stage, who will probably decide to drive to the first real stage as the thirteenth, so that the route will already be cleared. “It’s very important here when you go on the track. The ground is hard and the conditions are dry, so it is better to go on stage as late as possible. ”

Factory Citroen racers and M-Sport racers drove with soft tires today, while Volkswagen chose harder ones, much to Hirvonen’s surprise. Sebastien Ogier was VW's fastest racer. With 3.9 seconds behind, he was fifth, two places ahead of teammate Jari-Matti Latvalo.

“We talked about tire selection on the team,” Ogier said. “Maybe the softer tires were faster, but we decided to drive on hard ones. We were first on the stage, so we cleaned it up. ”

Jari-Matti Latvala added: “In this rally, it is important how you handle the tires. Only at the finish line will it be clear who made the right decision today. ”