“I have to say that I think Jari-Matti Latvala is a little bit sharper and hungrier at the moment. Mikko Hirvonen is maybe thinking more of taking points [because of his position in the Drivers Standings], he seems a bit nervous, and that maybe means that he is not driving as naturally as he could.”
During his career that spanned over 20 years, Alén took 19 wins, including 6 wins on his home event. He never claimed the coveted Drivers Championship, he came closest in 1986, but did claim the 1978 FIA Cup for Drivers, driving a Fiat 131 Abarth &, towards the end of the season, the Lancia Startos HF. That year, he won three events, finished second twice and third once. Alén spent most of his career at either Fiat or Lancia, from 1974 to 1989. He left Lancia at the end of 1990, moving to Subaru, where he enjoyed a less than successful time. In his 11 starts for the team, he failed to finish on seven occasions. He joined Toyota in 1992, scoring three fourth places and a podium in Finland. Afterwards, Alén made a couple of appearances, including débuting the then new Subaru Impreza 555.
However, with a healthy local entry of 8 WRC car mounted drivers looking for the win, Alén says that it will be a 'catastrophe' if anyone other than a Finn wins next weekend. It will be an even bigger catastrophe if one of the WRC car mounted Frenchmen wins, as it's a 'Finland vs. France' at this present time. One of the aforementioned Frenchmen is keen to make it Finland 1-France 7 [see the story here].
“Well, if it isn't a Finn who wins, this is a catastrophe. It's a huge source of national pride, as it’s Finland versus France at the moment. I don't mind who wins as long as he is Finnish.” Alén said.
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