Mikko Hirvonen 2008Rally runs in the family
Mikko Hirvonen’s enthusiasm for rally driving is inherited. His father, Juhani Hirvonen, raced in the 1970s and 80s. Mikko remembers driving a car as a 5-year-old boy in his father’s lap. Later, the ice track, ploughed next to his home, became familiar in various cars.
”At first, I was enthusiastically watching my father drive and then went on the ice to try for myself,” says Hirvonen.
His rally career started driving a Group N Opel Kadett on the Laihia Rally in 1998. ”We went off the course three times and broke the car twice but we were able to finish the race,” says an amused Hirvonen.
A year later Hirvonen won several junior competitions. In the 2002 season, Hirvonen drove in the general class, and a year later he came second in the Finnish Championship in the under 2-litre Group N series.
In 2002, Hirvonen joined the driver team of manager Timo Jouhki, gaining experience in different conditions and cars. In the Finnish Championship he won the under 2-litre Group A class.
During the season he took part in the Subaru Cup, driving in Group N cars in Italy and his first rally behind the wheel of a WRC car. Hirvonen took a win in the Italian Prealpi Trevigiane asphalt race.
”It was a great experience. At times, I simply had to let the car slide in corners and enjoy the feeling,” Hirvonen says, recalling the competition.
His first ever gravel race driving a WRC car came in the Cambria Rally in Wales, where he finished with a victory. “I was a little terrified because we could not write any pace notes for the race,” says Hirvonen.
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