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Hirvonen takes rally win in Finland

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver Mikko Hirvonen fulfilled a childhood dream by winning Rally Finland – a round of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship – in front of his hometown fans.

Hirvonen and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen won the legendary rally by 25.1sec in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to extend their WRC lead to three points over five-time WRC champion Sebastién Loeb with three rounds of this year’s WRC remaining. This was Hirvonen's third straight rally win and Ford's fourth consecutive victory of the 2009 season.

Sebastién Loeb and Daniel Elena (Citroen C4) pushed the Finns hard, but after a puncture yesterday they fell too far adrift to continue fighting for victory. Hirvonen’s team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila (Ford Focus RS) claimed third place, their first podium finish in Finland.

In the drivers’ championship, Hirvonen continues to lead and now has a three point advantage over Loeb. Loeb’s Citroën team-mate Dani Sordo retains third while Latvala moves up into fourth position. In the manufacturers’ championship, BP Ford has closed the gap but Citroën Total still leads by 14 points.

Rally Finland is one of the all-time classics on the calendar and in its 58 year history only seven non-Finns have won the event.

The rally kicked off on Thursday evening with a super special stage, won by Loeb. Then Hirvonen, celebrating his 29th birthday on the Friday, took the early advantage by winning the first two stages. The on-going intense battle between Hirvonen and Loeb ramped up, with the Frenchman winning the following two stages to close the gap to 3.6 seconds by the mid-day service.

Heavy rain early on Saturday morning softened the road surface and provided excellent grip for Ford team-mates Hirvonen and Latvala on their Pirelli Scorpion tyres. Conditions changed rapidly as the clouds cleared to leave a warm and sunny afternoon and the mud and standing water of the morning disappeared.

Maintaining his pace at the front of the field to the finish, Hirvonen comfortably added his name to the illustrious list of drivers who have mastered the sport's truest test of precision driving and bravery – Rally Finland.

“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,” said Hirvonen. “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.”

The 2009 FIA Junior World Rally Championship was also settled in Finland. With one round remaining, Martin Prokop, with co-driver Jan Tomanék in the Czech National Team Citroën C2 S1600, has won the title for the first time. In his fifth start at Rally Finland, Prokop pushed hard throughout the event, knowing that with just Rally de España to come on the P-WRC calendar, a high points-scoring finish would be a huge step towards him taking the title.

Formula One star Kimi Raikkonen and co-driver Kaj Lindstrom ran as high as 15th overall in the Fiat Punto S2000, but left the road in the 19th stage and were forced to retire.

Next is the 10th round of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship with crews heading to the new Australian location, New South Wales, for Repco Rally Australia over the weekend of 3 to 6 September.

Rally Finland – Final Results
1, M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen (FIN) Ford Focus RS, 2hr 50min 40.9sec
2, S Loeb/D Elena (FRA) Citroen C4, 2hr 51min 06.0sec
3, J-M Latvala/M Anttila (FIN) Ford Focus RS, 2hr 51min 30.8sec
4, D Sordo/M Marti (ESP) Citroen C4, 2hr 51min 47.0sec
5, M Rantanen/M Lukka (FIN) Ford Focus RS, 2hr 54min 59.1sec
6, S Ogier/J Ingrassia (FRA) Citroen C4, 2hr 54min 59.4sec
7, J Ketomaa/M Stenberg (FIN) Subaru Impreza, 2hr 55min 48.4sec
8, M Wilson/S Martin (GBR) Ford Focus RS, 2hr 57min 14.5sec
9, K Al Qassimi/M Orr (UAE) Ford Focus RS, 3hr 03min 38.2sec
10, J Hänninen/M Markkula (FIN) Skoda Fabia, 3hr 04min 54.6sec

FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 9 of 12 rounds)
1, M Hirvonen, 68pts
2, S Loeb, 65pts
3, D Sordo, 44pts
4, J-M Latvala, 31pts
5, H Solberg, 27pts
6, P Solberg, 25pts

FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 9 of 12 rounds)
1, Citroen Total, 119pts
2, BP Ford Abu Dhabi, 105pts
3, Stobart VK M-Sport Ford, 64pts
4, Citroen Junior, 33pts
5, Munchi's Ford, 20pts