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Hirvonen takes WRC lead with win

April 28, 2008

The Rally of Jordan, which was driven in blistering heat, saw Mikko Hirvonen retake the lead of the WRC series. The number one driver in the Ford team won for the second time in his career and in a race which was in the WRC series for the first time. Hirvonen won for the first time last year in the Rally of Norway.

The competition culminated in the last day’s fight, in which Hirvonen manoeuvred himself into a good starting position by dropping from second place to third in the last special stage on the second day of the competition. The leader and the first car on the last lap of the competition was Citroen’s Daniel Sordo, who took second place in the race.
- I didn’t worry so much about Sordo, but Jari-Matti Latvala would have been tough competition if he had not had problems, says Hirvonen, reflecting on the concluding day of the rally. Latvala dropped out of the fight for first place into seventh due to a broken suspension arm.
Sebastian Loeb, who was leading the WRC series before the Rally of Jordan, was leading the race at the beginning of the second day, but had to drop out after he collided with another Citroen driver in transition. Under the Super Rally rules, he returned to the competition for the final lap, took tenth place and did not receive any WRC points.
- I now have a five point lead over Loeb in the WRC series, which is obviously a good position. However, in the next races I need to drive faster, or else I won’t be fighting for the championship.  Loeb is so fast, Hirvonen warns.

A difficult route

The first ever WRC rally in the Middle East was a pleasant, although taxing experience for Hirvonen and his co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen.
- It must be the hardest race we’ve driven for the map-reader. There were no points of reference in the desert, and the route consisted of identical low slopes, one after another. Under the slope the road often turns, Lehtinen says.
- When the road traction varied all the time, it was hard to find a rhythm for driving, which meant that the map-reading rhythm was also difficult to find. I’m happy that there were no big mistakes in the map-reading.
The WRC series will continue in Sardinia 16-18 May.