The BP Ford team dominate day one of the rally of Turkey
The BP Ford Focus driver finished 7.9 seconds ahead of team-mate Jari Matti Latvala while reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb could only manage third place, 25.7 seconds adrift of Hirvonen at the end of the event.
The event was one of tactics and not outright speed.
Ford play team tactics making Loeb start first on the road
After dominating the opening day of the rally, the BP Ford team were in first and second overall but Hirvonen and Latvala were told by their team to ease their pace in the final few metres of the final stage of day one. This was so that they would drop down the leaderboard to gain better road conditions for day two.
This meant that Sebastien Loeb would start day two first on the road and it would be the Frenchman who would be cleaning the roads of loose gravel and in turn giving his rivals an advantage of go faster on the ‘sweeped’ stages.
This meant that the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team took full advantage of its tactical manoeuvre and took control of the Rally of Turkey.
Tactics pay off for Ford and Hirvonen as they take the lead on Rally Turkey
Mikko Hirvonen and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen sped over the tricky gravel tracks in the south of the country and led the rally at the end of the second leg. His team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala lay second over 16 seconds behind in a similar Focus RS
Hirvonen’s title rival and Citroen C4 driver Sebastien Loeb lay in third place after a gruelling day of road
sweeping.
With only four stages the third and final day is a sprint affair
The third day was a short affair with Mikko Hirvonen winning the rally ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala and Sebastien Loeb. So ultimate speed was not the be all and end all in the Rally of Turkey – it was more to do with team tactics and making sure the drivers had a low starting position for day two as a clean stage from loose stones would be pivotal.
A delighted Hirvonen described the weekend as 'amazing'. "I promised Malcolm Wilson I would lead the championship going into my home rally in Finland next month and I am. It was an incredibly hard weekend for drivers, cars and tyres and a great battle with Jari-Matti, which I'm so happy to win. It was the right moment for a win because we struggled on the last round in Greece and this is perfect timing. It feels very special to beat a four-time world champion in a straight fight,"
Hirvonen continued: “Our tactics worked so well and I didn't panic this morning when I was first on the road and had to sweep the stages. This is my best result because it was such a big team effort. I was so nervous and drove so carefully in the final stage to preserve my tyres. It looks like it will be an exciting championship battle in the second half of the season. Now I just want to go home and see my sons."
Rally of Turkey final standings:
1. Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) Ford 4hr 42min 07.100sec
2. Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland) Ford at 7.9sec
3. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen 25.7
4. Daniel Sordo (Spain) Citroen 2:25.6
5. Henning Solberg (Norway) Ford 2:33.7
6. Petter Solberg (Norway) Subaru 2:48.2
7. Matthew Wilson (Britain) Ford 4:24.2
8. Conrad Rautenbach (Zimbabwe) Citroen 7:46.7
9. Federico Villagra (Argentina) Ford 9:34.1
10. Barry Clark (Britain) Ford 14:48.
