Mikko Hirvonen with Co-Driver Jarmo Lehtinen - Ford Focus WRC - BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally TeamAGHII THEODORI, Greece : June 14, 2009 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team driver Mikko Hirvonen has won the Acropolis Rally of Greece, round seven of the 2009 World Rally Championship, after a perfect drive through the toughest conditions of the season in his Focus RS WRC.
The 28-year-old Finn carried a comfortable lead into Sunday’s final five stages, and kept out of trouble to finish 1min 12.9sec ahead of the man in second place, Citroen Junior team driver Sebastien Ogier.
The win was the eighth of Hirvonen’s WRC career and ended a victory drought that extended back to Rally Japan in 2008. After four second places this year, a perfect 10 point finish reignites his battle with Citroen’s Sebastien Loeb for this year’s drivers’ championship title.
Two rallies ago, Mikko trailed Loeb by 20 points, but a maximum score here, combined with Loeb’s exit on Saturday, means he’s now just seven behind. It was a remarkable turn around for the Finn who looked in a vulnerable position as road sweeper on Saturday morning.
“It really did look very difficult at the start but it worked out okay - a perfect weekend!” said Hirvonen. “It’s been a clever drive with no mistakes and no punctures. We thought before this event that if you get through without any problems you’ll be okay. It’s great for the team. Now we’re back in the game again - the timing couldn’t have been better!”
On the occasion of his first ever WRC podium finish, Ogier was celebrating too: “Perfect!” said the Frenchman. “This weekend was all about conservation. We made no mistakes and we looked after the car and the tyres. Just one puncture all weekend and the car has run perfectly. I couldn’t have hoped for a better result that this.”
Hirvonen’s team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala finished third, 32.1sec behind Ogier’s C4, to conclude a remarkable salvage job after going off the road on Friday. Latvala’s efforts earned Ford a maximum 18 points in the manufacturers’ championship, and went some way to restoring his team’s faith in him after his Day one disaster.
“Things can turn around quite quickly,” he grinned. “It was important for me to get this result, because now we have a better chance against Citroen. It’s my second podium in a row, so that’s a positive too. The next rounds in Poland and Finland are important for me and the team - I want to do better there.”
Pos | No | Driver | Time | Diff Next | Diff 1st |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 3 | Mikko HIRVONEN | 4:09:42.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2. | 12 | Sebastien OGIER | 4:10:55.4 | +1:12.9 | +1:12.9 |
3. | 4 | Jari-Matti LATVALA | 4:11:27.5 | +32.1 | +1:45.0 |
4. | 9 | Federico VILLAGRA | 4:13:30.8 | +2:03.3 | +3:48.3 |
5. | 8 | Conrad RAUTENBACH | 4:13:42.3 | +11.5 | +3:59.8 |
6. | 14 | Khalid AL QASSIMI | 4:16:46.8 | +3:04.5 | +7:04.3 |
7. | 15 | Mads OSTBERG | 4:22:07.4 | +5:20.6 | +12:24.9 |
8. | 59 | Lambros ATHANASSOULAS | 4:22:30.1 | +22.7 | +12:47.6 |
9. | 50 | Nasser AL-ATTIYAH | 4:22:52.4 | +22.3 | +13:09.9 |
10. | 47 | Armindo ARAUJO | 4:24:47.0 | +1:54.6 | +15:04.5 |
11. | 33 | Toshi ARAI | 4:25:45.0 | +58.0 | +16:02.5 |
12. | 2 | Dani SORDO | 4:28:23.5 | +2:38.5 | +18:41.0 |
13. | 31 | Martin PROKOP | 4:28:28.9 | +5.4 | +18:46.4 |
14. | 5 | Matthew WILSON | 4:29:01.8 | +32.9 | +19:19.3 |
15. | 6 | Henning SOLBERG | 4:29:50.2 | +48.4 | +20:07.7 |
16. | 7 | Evgeny NOVIKOV | 4:31:00.6 | +1:10.4 | +21:18.1 |
17. | 32 | Bernardo SOUSA | 4:31:49.6 | +49.0 | +22:07.1 |
18. | 40 | Andis NEIKSANS | 4:32:02.6 | +13.0 | +22:20.1 |
19. | 62 | Jon WILLIAMS | 4:36:57.6 | +4:55.0 | +27:15.1 |
20. | 45 | Patrik FLODIN | 4:37:28.8 | +31.2 | +27:46.3 |
Drivers' championship standings after 7 rounds
| Pos | Driver | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastien LOEB (F) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 5 | R | 55 |
| 2 | Mikko HIRVONEN (FIN) | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | R | 8 | 10 | 38 |
| 3 | Dani SORDO (E) | 8 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | - | - | 31 |
| 4 | Jari-Matti LATVALA (FIN) | - | 6 | - | R | 3 | 10 | 6 | 21 |
| 5 | Henning SOLBERG (N) | 5 | 5 | - | 4 | 6 | 1 | - | 20 |
| 6 | Petter SOLBERG (N) | - | 3 | 6 | 5 | R | 6 | R | 19 |
| 7 | Matthew WILSON (GB) | 2 | 2 | 4 | R | 4 | 3 | - | 15 |
| 8 | Federico VILLAGRA (ARG) | - | - | 2 | 2 | 5 | R | 5 | 9 |
| 9 | Sebastien OGIER (F) | 3 | - | R | - | 2 | R | 8 | 5 |
| 10 | Mads OSTBERG(N) | - | - | - | 3 | - | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 | Conrad RAUTENBACH (ZW) | - | R | 3 | R | R | - | 4 | 4 |
| 12 | Khalid AL QASSIMI (UAE) | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 3 |
| 13 | Evgeny NOVIKOV (RUS) | - | - | R | R | - | 4 | - | 3 |
| 14 | Khalid AL QASSIMI (UAE) | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| 15 | Urmo AAVA (EE) | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| 16 | Nasser AL-ATTIYAH(QA) | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| 17 | Lambros ATHANASSOULAS(GR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Pos | Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Citroen Total World Rally Team | 18 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 94 |
| 2 | BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team | 8 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 18 | 18 | 79 |
| 3 | Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 49 |
| 4 | Citroen Junior Team | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 24 |
| 5 | Munchi's Ford World Rally Team | - | - | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 18 |
[Source : WRC, FORD, CITROEN]
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