HIRVONEN AND LOEB TO SLOG IT OUT FOR TITLE IN WALES
2009-10-20 18:29:49 Author: admin Source:
After 11 rounds, 219 speed tests and 3774.37km of competition, Mikko Hirvonen's challenge for the World Rally Championship (WRC) drivers' title will be decided at the final fixture in Wales, Round 12 of the WRC, this weekend.
The Ford World Rally Team driver starts Rally of Great Britain from 22 - 25 October with a single point advantage over perennial and defending WRC Champion Citroen’s Sebastian Loeb. This exciting finale becomes one of the more enticing finishes to the WRC season for several years.
The Finn faces a head-to-head showdown with Loeb in Wales, and irrespective of where they finish, whichever driver is the highest on the leaderboard when the rally returns to Cardiff after three days of flat-out driving on gravel tracks in mid- and south Wales will lift the crown.
Team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala will provide crucial support in the second Focus RS WRC, and he has a good record over the Welsh forest roads. Hirvonen won in 2007 while Latvala secured second last season.
Hirvonen, who has four wins to his credit this season, remains calm about the challenge ahead. "I feel really excited about the situation and can't wait for the rally to start, but I don't feel any pressure. It will be a hard fight and I don't underestimate the job I need to do," he said.
"Although I've won there before, this rally hasn't always been kind to me, but I do enjoy the roads in Wales and know them well. They're fast and flowing, even quicker than my home event in Finland in places. If I had to choose a rally on which to fight for the title then Finland would be my first choice. But Britain would be second on the list. I love driving there and the roads really suit me," added Hirvonen.
Latvala has more experience of this rally than his home event in Finland. He began his career in Britain ‘02 at just 17 years old with support from the late Pentti Airikkala and this will be his eighth Rally of Great Britain.
The third Ford driver features Khalid Al Qassimi who finished 16th on his debut at last year’s Wales GB. Al Qassimi will also give his full support to Hirvonen's title bid.
After wrapping up their fifth WRC Manufacturers' title in Spain last time out, the Citroen World Rally Team will tackle the Rally of Great Britain looking to pull off yet another feat. This time, its mission will be to give Loeb the means to secure a sixth consecutive Drivers' crown.
For the Frenchman, the arithmetics couldn't be simpler: he must necessarily finish in the points ahead of Hirvonen. Meanwhile, Dani Sordo (above) will be given a free rein to target victory.
Sebastien Loeb commented, "Our mission in Wales is pretty much straightforward. We will need to finish ahead of Mikko(Hirvonen), and in the points. The two of us will obviously be under a great deal of pressure, and even a small mistake could put either one of us out of the running for the title.”
“I don't want to dwell too much on the stakes, however, otherwise we run the risk of not being able to put one foot in front of the other! As far as possible, I will try to put all that to the back of my mind and simply get on the fight,” he added.
Stobart Ford team comes to an exciting climax to the WRC season this weekend as the Team prepares to celebrate its best year ever at its home event. Matthew Wilson (above) is already assured of his best ever points total for a WRC season, but is aiming to put on a sensational show for his home crowd. Meanwhile, team mate Henning Solberg needs to earn five points to equal his best ever finish to a season, and will be gunning for a podium spot.
Wilson will be flying the flag for Great Britain on his home event looking to build on the team's popularity which reached a peak on this event last year as the Stobart squad celebrated its 50th WRC rally with MotoGP star Valentino Rossi joining the team.
Wilson will be taking part in the Wales GB rally for the sixth time, therefore has plenty of experience at the tricky Welsh stages. With 25 points to his name already this season the Brit has delivered the performance improvements that he targeted at the start of the season, but is keen to finish the year with a flourish, aiming to match his best performance of the season, fifth place.
Solberg is also in with a chance of completing his best ever WRC season. Having already picked up two podium finishes so far this year the Norwegian will be aiming to upset the pecking order to take yet another podium spot in Cardiff. Solberg has shown strong form on gravel this season, and is always a firm favorite with the crowds thanks to his exuberant driving style, but despite that, he has never finished inside the points in eight attempts at Rally GB.
Solberg and Wilson will be joined in the team by Steve Perez. Perez, owner of the Team's title sponsor VK and sponsor of the Kick Energy Fiesta SportTrophy UK, earned an impressive top-20 finish at Rally GB last year.
