Mikko Hirvonen(born 31 July 1980) is aFinnishformerrallydriver, and a current Rally-Raid driver, who drove in theWorld Rally Championship.He placed third in the drivers' championship and helpedFordto themanufacturers' titlein both2006and2007.In2008,2009,2011and2012he finished runner-up toSébastien Loeb.Hirvonen'sco-driverwasJarmo Lehtinenfrom the2003 seasonuntil his retirement in2014,Lehtinen had replacedMiikka Anttilawho co-drove with Hirvonen in the2002 season.
 Hirvonen in Germany, 2014. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Finnish |
| Born | 31 July 1980 Kannonkoski,Finland |
| World Rally Championshiprecord | |
| Active years | 2002–2014 |
| Co-driver | Jarmo LehtinenMiikka Anttila |
| Teams | Citroën,Ford,Subaru,Škoda,M-Sport |
| Rallies | 163 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Rally wins | 15 |
| Podiums | 69 |
| Stage wins | 260 |
| Total points | 1210 |
| First rally | 2002 Rally Finland |
| First win | 2006 Rally Australia |
| Last win | 2012 Rally Italia Sardegna |
| Last rally | 2014 Wales Rally GB |
Career
edit2002–05
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Hirvonen won the under 2000 ccGroup AFinnish Rally Championshipin 2002. As one of the World Rally Championship's younger competitors he made his debut full-time in a thirdFord World Rally Teamentry in the2003 season,scoring one points finish for sixth place at theCyprus Rally.
AfterRichard Burnswas diagnosed with brain tumor in late 2003, Hirvonen moved to take his place as team-mate to 2003 world championPetter Solbergin2004for theSubaru World Rally Team.He scored points in ten rallies, but his best event result was only fourth, at theRally Argentinaand at the season-endingRally Australia.These performances were not enough to secure a seat for the2005 season.Hirvonen then campaigned a two-year-oldFord Focus RS WRC 03and led one rally during the course of the year, and scored a career-best third-place finish at theRally Catalunyaas aprivateer.
2006–07
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It was Hirvonen's showings on such events that brought him back to the attention of Ford, whose factory arm signed him for the2006 season.Hirvonen drove the newFord Focus RS WRC 06partnered withMarcus Grönholm.Hirvonen took his first World Rally Championship win at theRally Australia,and placed second at theRally d'Italia Sardegna,theRally of Turkeyand theRally New Zealand.By finishing on the podium for six rallies in a row, he secured a third place overall in the drivers' world championship.
In the2007 season,Hirvonen started with a fifth place at the75ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carloand a third place at the56th Uddeholm Swedish Rally.He took his second WRC victory inNorwayand later also won the2007 Rally Japanand the season-ending2007 Wales Rally GB.He finished third in the driver's championship, 17 points behindSébastien Loeb.With Grönholm, Hirvonen secured the manufacturers' title for Ford for the second year in running.
2008–14
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On 17 December, Hirvonen was officially named as the number one BP-Ford Abu Dhabi factory driver for the2008 season,after Marcus Grönholm's retirement.[1]His young compatriotJari-Matti Latvalawas named his teammate in the second factory Focus.[1]Hirvonen started the season with a second place at the2008 Monte Carlo Rally,which was his and the BP-Ford Team's target.[2][3]InSweden,he was considered as favourite,[4]but had to settle for second being unable to keep up with his younger teammate's pace.[5]AfterRally Mexico,where he had punctures and had to change a wheel, and inRally Argentina,where he retired from the lead and then re-joined underSupeRallyrules to take fifth place, Hirvonen took his first win of the season at the inauguralJordan Rally.
Hirvonen took his second victory of the season inTurkey.Despite being the favourite to win at his home event, theRally Finland,he could not match the pace of his title rival Loeb and finished a close second. InNew Zealand,Hirvonen was leading when he had a puncture and a spin on the penultimate stage, dropping him to third behind theCitroëndrivers Loeb andSordo.The stage was a disaster for Ford as Hirvonen's teammate Latvala andStobart M-Sport ForddriverFrançois Duvalboth crashed out from second and fifth place, respectively.[6]Hirvonen then dropped eight points behind Loeb in the drivers' championship with only four more rallies to go.
Loeb soon secured his number one spot in the drivers' championship inJapan,but the manufacturers' title fight was still open as Ford trailed Citroën by eleven points. That changed when Hirvonen rolled his car onto its roof in stage five of the season-endingWales Rally GB.[7]He was bumped down to 44th as a result, but managed to recover to eighth place by the end of the rally. This result meant that Hirvonen and co-driver Lehtinen became the first WRC drivers ever to score points on every round of a season.[8]
Hirvonen started the2009 seasonwith a third place behind the Citroën duo at theRally Ireland.At theRally Norway,which he won in 2007, he narrowly lost the win to Loeb after a tight three-day battle. He went to finish second to Loeb also in the following two rallies inCyprusandPortugal.In Portugal, Hirvonen tied the record for the longest points finish streak in the series (22 events) with his former teammateMarcus Grönholm.[9]In the next round inArgentina,Hirvonen was six seconds behind Loeb after 14 stages when his Focus RS WRC incurred an engine problem.[10]His retirement saw Loeb take a 20-point lead over him in the drivers' standings.
At theRally d'Italia Sardegna,Hirvonen and Loeb both dropped time on day one in a bid to gain a better road position. After Loeb incurred a puncture, Hirvonen found himself unable to catch teammate Latvala, who had been pushing in front from start to finish.[11]In the followingAcropolis Rallyin Greece, Hirvonen took his first win of the season. With Loeb crashing out, he reduced the Frenchman's championship lead to seven points.[12]At the followingRally Poland,Loeb crashed again, although recovered to seventh, with Hirvonen winning his second consecutive rally he moved to the top of the standings. InFinland,Hirvonen took the lead on the first proper stage and continued pulling away from Loeb to take his debut win in his home event.[13]A few weeks later, in Australia, Mikko was again in a tight battle with Loeb, where Loeb eventually won. Unfortunately for Loeb his car was found to have rollbar irregularities, as did Dani Sordo and Sébastien Ogier. They were then given 1 minute time penalties, which handed Hirvonen the win and 10 points. Hirvonen led the 2009 Championship by a point from Sebastien Loeb, and needed a win to clinch the title, but a hard landing from a jump on the penultimate stage caused the bonnet hinge to fail, as time ticked by to get rid of the bonnet cover, the Championship was handed to Loeb.[14]
In 2010, Hirvonen continued his partnership with Ford for the last time with the Ford Focus RS WRC before switching to the new 1.6 Ecoboost Ford Fiesta RS WRC in 2011. In 2012, Hirvonen changed his seat to a Citroën DS3 WRC to partner Sebastien Loeb in the Citroën Total World Rally Team.
His first rally win for Citroën was the fourth rally of the 2012 season in Portugal to provisionally take the lead in the championship, but he was later disqualified from the event due to irregularities with the clutch and turbo in his Citroën DS3 WRC.
2013 was a disappointing year for Hirvonen, finishing on the podium just five times, collecting no wins. He ended the season with one of his biggest accidents ever in Wales. He finished the season in 4th place.
On 13 December 2013, it was confirmed Hirvonen would re-joinM-Sport,formerlyFordfor the2014season. The season was remarkably good for him, as he grabbed two podium places, and three power stage victories meant he was placed fourth in the championship, behind the dominantVolkswagentrio,Sebastien Ogier,Jari-Matti Latvala andAndreas Mikkelsen.
On 6 November 2014, it was announced that he will retire from the sport, moments before the start of the Wales Rally GB.[15]
2015-present
editIn 2015, Hirvonen began to compete in rally raid forX-Raidwith aMini Countryman,finishing third at theBaja Aragónwith co-driverMichel Périn.In January 2016 he finished fourth at the2016 Dakar Rally.In the2016 FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup,the Finn won the Hungarian Baja and finished third at the eAbu Dhabi Desert Challengeand Baja Aragón, ranking fourth in the overall standings. The driver finished 13th at the2017 Dakar Rally.
WRC victories
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IRC victories
edit| No. | Event | Season | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  78ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo
|
2010 | Jarmo Lehtinen | Ford Fiesta S2000 |
Career results
editComplete WRC results
editIRC results
edit| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 |  M-Sport Ltd.
|
Ford Fiesta S2000 | MON 1 |
BRA | ARG | CAN | ITA | BEL | AZO | MAD | CZE | ITA | SCO | CYP | 11th | 10 |
ERC results
edit| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  MM Motorsport
|
Ford Fiesta R5 | AZO | CAN | LIE | POL | RMC | CZE | CYP 3 |
HUN | 20th | 21 |
Dakar Rally results
edit| Year | Class | Vehicle | Position | Stages won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Cars | Mini
|
4th | 1 |
| 2017 | 13th | 0 | ||
| 2018 | 19th | 0 |
References
edit- ^ab"Ford confirms line-up".Crash.net. 2007-12-17.Retrieved2007-12-18.
- ^"Ford: We couldn't have asked for more from Mikko".Crash.net. 2008-01-29.Retrieved2008-02-20.
- ^"Hirvonen: I've started season how I wanted".Crash.net. 2008-01-27.Retrieved2008-02-20.
- ^"Mikko: I really need to win in Sweden".Crash.net. 2008-02-03.Retrieved2008-02-20.
- ^"Mikko: I had no choice but to settle for second".Crash.net. 2008-02-11.Retrieved2008-02-20.
- ^"Loeb handed dramatic NZ victory".Autosport.2008-08-31.Retrieved2008-09-25.
- ^Hirvonen rollsArchived2009-07-16 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Ford: We'll be back".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-07-15.Retrieved2008-12-09.
- ^"Longest points finish streaks".World Rally Archive.Retrieved14 June2009.
- ^Beer, Matt (25 April 2009)."Hirvonen forced to retire in Argentina".Autosport.Retrieved14 June2009.
- ^Beer, Matt (24 May 2009)."Latvala ends Loeb's winning streak".Autosport.Retrieved14 June2009.
- ^Beer, Matt (14 June 2009)."Hirvonen clinches Acropolis victory".Autosport.Retrieved14 June2009.
- ^Beer, Matt (2 August 2009)."Hirvonen secures Finland win".Autosport.Retrieved2 August2009.
- ^HISTORY REVIEW/ Wales Rally GB 2013 - Rally of Legends
- ^"Mikko Hirvonen says goodbye to rallying".Maismotores.net.R Barros. 6 November 2014.Retrieved6 November2014.
External links
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