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Hirvonen celebrates birthday with Finnish home win
publication date: Aug 3, 2009
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author/source: Gary Jones
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BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver Mikko
Hirvonen fulfilled a childhood dream by winning Rally Finland in front
of his home town fans in Jyväskylä yesterday.
Hirvonen and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen won the legendary rally by
25.1sec in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to extend their lead in
the FIA World Rally Championship to three points with three rounds
remaining. It was Hirvonen's third straight rally win and Ford's fourth
consecutive victory of the 2009 season.
Team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila joined their fellow
Finns on the podium by claiming third in their Focus RS WRC after WRC leader Sebastien Loeb never recovered from a serious puncture and was a distant second.
Latvala
fought off a severe stomach upset yesterday to claim his maiden podium
on his home rally. The results enabled Ford to close the gap on the
leaders in the manufacturers' world title fight to 14 points, and ended
a perfect week in which Ford announced it would extend its commitment
to WRC for a further two years into 2010 and 2011.
Rally Finland, round nine in the 12-event championship, is the fastest
rally in the series. Famous for its awesome roller-coaster jumps,
Latvala topped the speed chart by winning the penultimate special stage
at a remarkable average of 131.56kph. Few of the 23 gravel speed tests
covering 345.15km fell below a 120kph average and even when heavy rain
fell yesterday morning during the second leg, speeds remained high as
the rock hard road surface softened to provide even better grip.
Hirvonen, who celebrated his 29th birthday during the first leg on
Friday, added his name to the illustrious list of drivers who have
mastered the sport's truest test of precision driving and bravery by
leading for all but the first couple of kilometres. He steadily pulled
away from closest rival Sébastien Loeb and when the Frenchman damaged a
tyre yesterday afternoon, Hirvonen was able to measure his pace, reduce
the risks and take an emotional victory in front of his family and
friends.
"I've watched this rally since I was a kid and now I have won here
myself and joined so many of the sport's legends who have won here.
It's such a fantastic sensation to win my home rally that I can't put
my feelings into words. It has been such a great weekend for the team
that there will be big celebrations tonight. I felt in control
throughout the rally. It was a great battle with Loeb and when he had a
problem, I could afford to take it a little bit easier," said Hirvonen.
Latvala held fourth for most of the opening leg but his chances of
improving looked slim when a stomach upset left him drained of energy
yesterday morning and unable to drive at full speed. However, the
24-year-old quickly recovered and as his health improved, so did his
stage times. He received the ideal tonic by climbing into third during
the afternoon and maintained a fast but cautious pace for the rest of
the rally to secure a podium place by 16.2sec.
"It's one of the highlights of my career to finish on the podium on my home rally," he said.
Rally Australia returns to the series for the first time since 2006
next month. The new-look rally has crossed the country to the east
coast and is based in Kingscliff, New South Wales on 3 - 6 September.
| West Wales co-driver Gareth Roberts with Irishman Craig Breen put in a phenomenal flying drive to 26th place in their Fiesta ST.
© Images Gary Jones |  | | | |  |
FLYING THE FLAG IN FINLAND: Arwel and Clair Williams of Ammanford went along to support Welsh crews | | | |
| Neste Oil Rally of Finland Final positions | | | | | 1. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen
| Ford Focus RS | 2hr 50min 40.9sec | | 2. S Loeb/D Elena | Citroen C4
| 2hr 51min 06.0sec | | 3. J-M Latvala/M Anttila | Ford Focus RS | 2hr 51min 30.8sec | | 4. D Sordo/M Marti | Citroen C4 | 2hr 51min 47.0sec | | 5. M Rantanen/M Lukka | Ford Focus RS | 2hr 54min 59.1sec | 6. S Ogier/J Ingrassia
| Citroen C4 | 2hr 54min 59.4sec | | 7. J Ketomaa/M Stenberg | Subaru Impreza | 2hr 55min 48.4sec | | 8. M Wilson/S Martin | Ford Focus RS | 2hr 57min 14.5sec | | 9. K Al Qassimi/M Orr | Ford Focus RS | 3hr 03min 38.2sec | | 10 J Hänninen/M Markkula | Skoda Fabia | 3hr 04min 54.6sec |
| World Rally Championshp | | | | Drivers | | Manufacturers | | 1. M Hirvonen | 68pts | | 1. Citroen Total | 119pts | | 2. S Loeb | 65pts | | 2. BP Ford Abu Dhabi | 105pts | | 3. D Sordo | 44pts | | 3. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford | 64pts | | 4. J-M Latvala | 31pts | | 4. Citroen Junior | 33pts | | 5. H Solberg | 27pts | | 5. Munchi's Ford | 20pts | | | | | | |
A spectator has died after being hit by a rally car.
The collision happened at the Harry Flatters Rally 09 event yesterday morning at Dixies Corner, Sennybridge in Powys.
The man, thought to be in his 60s,
suffered serious head injuries and was airlifted to Cardiff's
University Hospital of Wales where he died. The driver of the car also lost
consciousness but came around at the scene. He was later taken to
hospital.
Police have appealed to witnesses who may have seen or even filmed the accident to contact them.
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