Hirvonen keeps sharp eye on lead

...as Australia returns to the series for the first time in more than five years this week.

Mikko Hirvonen has a narrow points lead over five-time world champion Sebastian Loeb before Repco Rally Australia and knows he needs to win on the far north coast of NSW. There are only three events still to run in the 2009 world title and Hirvonen intends to exploit his advantage on unsealed surfaces, where he cut his teeth in rallying, to blunt Loeb's edge on the single bitumen event.

But Hirvonen, in Sydney yesterday, said he is not feeling any extra pressure. "I don't feel any pressure. We have good rallies behind us. I am leading the championship," Hirvonen said. "Ok, it starts to be quite exciting now. I hope we can win, for sure. I'm really confident."

Rally Australia will be a two-way tussle between Hirvonen and Loeb, as there are only two factory teams in this year's championship and the Finn's Ford team mate Jari-Matti Latvala and Loeb's Citroen sidekick Dani Sordo are both expected to run in supporting roles.

But there will be plenty of other interest, as former Australian champions Neal Bates in a Toyota Corolla and Cody Crocker in a Subaru look to be the first local home. "This is the biggest event of the year, for sure. We're definitely looking to be the best of the Australians," Bates said yesterday. There is also the prospect of a different type of battle with anti- rally protesters - who failed last week with a Federal Court challenge to the event - planning to disrupt the rally, which is based south of Tweed Heads.

Hirvonen did not want to comment on the anti-rally feeling, preferring to concentrate on the competition. "I do not know enough to say anything," he said.

But he knows how to get the best from his high-powered, $500,000 Ford Focus, which has been the car to beat through the second half of the world championship. Hirvonen will start first, which can be a disadvantage as drivers battle for grip on loose surfaces, but believes his car is the best. "The car has been going very well. I will know more once we fly up to the rally tomorrow (MON) and after we recce the course from Tuesday," he said. "But it doesn't really matter. I'm sure it will be pretty fast, and the time differences between the drivers will be very small. A small mistake could be very costly."