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Ford victory in Poland changes WRC standings

Mikko Hirvonen and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen, in a Ford Focus RS WRC, have won the weekend’s three-day Rally of Poland, the eighth round of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship and now takes the lead in the drivers’ point standings.

Winning by a margin of one minute and ten seconds over second-placed Dani Sordo and co-driver Marc Marti in a Citroen C4, it was Ford’s third consecutive victory this season. Third, just over two minutes behind, was the Ford Focus of Norway’s Henning Solberg and co-driver Cato Menkerud who won two stages on the final day.

This was Poland's first inclusion in the WRC since the inaugural championship in 1973. More than 200,000 fans welcomed its return by swamping the picturesque Mazurian Lake District, 250km from Warsaw in the north-east of the country, to watch the action. Narrow, sandy and blisteringly fast gravel roads challenged the drivers, who tackled 18 special stages covering 352.00km.

Hirvonen took the lead on the third stage on Friday morning with team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila claiming second just one test later after Sébastien Loeb, Hirvonen's title rival, hit a tree stump and broke his car's suspension.

"This has been the best rally of the season so far," said 28-year-old Hirvonen. "The roads here are fast and narrow and the crowds provided a superb atmosphere. It's the first time I have won two consecutive rallies and it has put me into the lead of the championship ahead of my home rally in Finland. The weekend was perfect from start to finish. After Loeb's mistake on Friday, I thought I might have an easy drive but it wasn't to be. I had to drive flat out yesterday to stay ahead and it's a fantastic feeling to win after such a great fight.”

The BP Ford Abu Dhabi duo remained first and second until the final stage when Latvala hit a barrel and broke his car’s steering, handing third to the Citroen pairing.

In the driver standings, Hirvonen takes a one point lead over Loeb, who has suffered uncharacteristic accidents in the last two events. Sordo remains third. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Citroën Total still heads BP Ford.

Fourth for the event, former driver champion Petter Solberg and co-driver Phil Mills (Citroen) beat home Matthew Wilson and co-driver Scott Martin (Ford). In sixth, Krzysztof Holowczyc and co-driver Lukasz Kurzeja (Ford) were the best placed locals.

Citroen junior star Sébastien Ogier was forced out with a suspected engine problem and Sébastien Loeb finally finished in the points, in seventh, after dropping to 32nd overall on Friday.

Kevin Abbring and co-driver Erwin Mombaerts became the youngest winner of a round of the FIA Junior World Rally Championship (J-WRC) when at 20 years and 159 days old he finished in a Renault Team Clio R3. Contesting the sixth of eight rounds in the J-WRC series, Abbring fought a magnificently close battle with J-WRC leader Michal Kosciuszko (POL, Suzuki), and after two and a half days of competition the pair were separated by just 0.1 seconds after 14 of the 18 special stages. The closest finish in J-WRC history beckoned, but three stages from the finish Kosciuszko hit a tree and retired – which disappointed Abbring, as he wanted to show the world his true talent by fighting all the way to the finish and beating his rival on home ground.

The FIA World Rally Championship now heads to Jyväskylä for Neste Oil Rally Finland, 30 July to 2 August.

Rally Poland – Final Results (provisional - subject to final scrutineering)

1. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen    Ford Focus RS WRC    3 hr 07 min 27.5sec
2. Dani Sordo/Marc Marti        Citroën C4 WRC        3 hr 08 min 37.8sec
3. Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud    Ford Focus RS WRC    3 hr 09 min 33.2sec
4. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills        Citroën Xsara WRC    3 hr 10 min 01.8sec
5. Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin        Ford Focus RS WRC    3 hr 11 min 45.0sec
6. Krzysztof Holowczyc/Lukasz Kurzeja    Ford Focus RS WRC    3 hr 12 min 01.4sec
7. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena        Citroën C4 WRC        3 hr 26 min 42.6sec
8. Conrad Rautenbach/Daniel Barritt    Citroën C4 WRC        3 hr 26 min 48.1sec

FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 8 of 12 rounds)

Mikko Hirvonen    (FIN)    58 points
Sébastien Loeb    (F)    57 points
Dani Sordo    (E)    39 points
Henning Solberg    (N)    27 points
Jari-Matti Latvala    (FIN)    25 points
Petter Solberg    (N)    25 points
Matthew Wilson    (GB)    19 points
Federico Villagra    (RA)    14 points
Sébastien Ogier    (F)    13 points
Conrad Rautenbach    (ZW)    8 points
Mads Østberg    (N)    7 points
Khalid Al Qassimi    (UAE)    6 points
Evgeny Novikov    (RUS)    4 points
Chris Atkinson    (AUS)    4 points
Krzysztof Holowczyc    (PL)    3 points
Urmo Aava    (EE)    1 points
Nasser Al-Attiyah    (QAT)    1 points
Lambros Athanassoulas    (GR)    1 points

FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 8 of 12 rounds)

Citroën Total World Rally Team        106 Points
BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team    89 Points
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team    60 Points
Citroën Junior Team            29 Points
Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team        18 Points