Team Abu Dhabi eye another one-two finish

Olbia, Sardinia: BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team's Finnish duo, Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala, are looking to complete the outfit's second one-two of the season in Rally Sardinia which starts today while Emirati driver Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi bids to recreate his success in last month's Rally Jordan where he clinched his first top ten WRC finish.

Hirvonen, buoyed by his Rally Jordan win - which took him five points clear at the top of the WRC's drivers' standings - and Jari-Matti Latvala returning to 'one of his favourite' rallies, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority-backed drivers are confident they can also extend their seven point manufacturers' standings cushion.

And after spending the last week doing 640-plus kilometres of combined Sardinia testing, the 'Flying Finns' were lightening quick in this morning's 'Shakedown' testing session.

"Leading again feels really good. I was on top before but had a little bit of bad luck in Argentina and lost the lead.

"I'm surprised I've managed to get it back after just one rally," said Hirvonen -who's first on the road today by virtue of his top of the table rank.

Good position

"If I can get good points from the next three Mediterranean rallies, maybe even win one, and go fast in the others and pick up points, I will be very pleased," added Hirvonen.

"This is one of my favourite rallies and I'm looking forward to it quite a lot.

"I'm hoping to fight for the top three places and even for victory.

"We'll see when we start - we have a good starting position and we'll be able to monitor how fast we need to go to set the pace," said Latvala.

Speaking after finishing Rally Sardinia's warm-up 'Shakedown' testing session, Shaikh Khalid said, "The roads are very narrow, much more difficult than Jordan, they're more technical - lots of tight hidden corners, with trees, bushes and blind crests everywhere.

"The rain has made lots of places very muddy, messy and slippery, but it's also dry where the trees cover the road.

"It is really difficult when it is both wet and dry because you don't know what to expect in corners," said the Team Abu Dhabi driver. Today's six stages - two loops of the Monte Corvos, Crastazza and Terranova runs - cover 131.56km of competitive distance.