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Hirvonen on the podium again

Taking risks during the last stage of the WRC Rally of Germany was not enough to secure for Ford rally team driver Mikko Hirvonen the expected result. For Hirvonen, third place was, however, already his eighth podium finish in the ten competitions of the season so far. A statistic that clearly demonstrates his speed has increased considerably from last season, on gravel as well as tarmac.

- “I have never driven this fast in a German rally. For me, this was really a good finish.  Now it seems that I can manage the podium on gravel as well as on tarmac,” says Hirvonen.

During the nineteen special stages Hirvonen drove two fastest stage times, and his best ever finish in the Rally of Germany. On Sunday he opted for soft tyres because of the predicted rain and tried to surprise Francois Duval, who was holding on to third place with his Citroen - equipped with power transmission activelocks.  The promised rain did not come, and Duval, only 5.1 seconds ahead of Hirvonen, managed to escape on his hard tyres.

“We decided to take the risk because there was a slight chance of rain during the first special stage of the morning. When no rain appeared and I saw Duval's intermediate times, I realised I just needed to be sure of reaching the finish line,” says Hirvonen.

At that stage Hirvonen was fourth but rose to third place when his team mate Marcus Grönholm, still second on the morning of the penultimate day, dropped to fourth after having gone off the road.  Grönholm lost his concentration after being distracted by a cow on the edge of the road.

The WRC Rally series will continue on 30 August with the Rally of New Zealand. The rally, which takes place in Hamilton, the north island, is one of Hirvonen's favourites. A year ago he was second.

“After the Neste Oil Rally and the Rally of Germany, my self-confidence is high. I feel really good about driving on those gravel roads,” says Hirvonen.

The winner of the Rally of Germany was Sebastien Loeb. The Frenchman's sixth successive victory in the same race is a record in the WRC series.