"Looking back on it now, I think I would have been quite surprised if somebody had told me before the season that the first drivers' points I would score would come in Jordan. Of all the rallies I did so far it was the most difficult, but still I ended up with four points for finishing eighth.Rallying seems to be one of these sports where the more you learn, the less you know. What I mean is that just when you think you have one problem solved, you realise how much further you have to go.
But actually, this is exactly how I imagined it would be. I never expected to come in and be straight into the front, just as I wouldn't expect somebody like Sebastien Loeb to come into Formula One and be straight at the front. Most drivers are naturally impatient - you want everything, now. But when you start something from the beginning, you have to control that impulse.
I'm actually enjoying the process of learning all over again; it's like my early days in Formula One. It's not that Formula One got boring for me, but you get very used to something if you do it for long enough, and rallying has given me a great change of scene at a time when I needed it.
As for the future...who knows? I'm not even thinking about it. At some point in the year, maybe halfway through it, I'll have to start thinking about what to do next, but until then there's no point in worrying about it. Let's just say that for the moment I'm very happy doing what I'm doing. Rallying has always been a dream of mine since I was a kid, and now I get the chance to live my dream. How many people can say that? Motor sport is so pressured and commercial all the time, that it's easy to forget the reason why you started to do it in the first place; because it's the most fun you can have. This year is all about that for me.
I have a bit of time off now before the Rally of Turkey, which I think should be a slightly more straightforward event for us than Jordan. From what I hear the surfaces there should be more consistent, which will help me a lot, although the temperatures are going to be the same - or maybe even hotter. Although I sweat quite a lot that's never really bothered me: I mostly don't notice it. This ice man doesn't melt..."
Source: WRC - Pirelli
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