Qualifying report
WRC
Hirvonen wins Finland qualifying
The Finn takes the first step in his quest for victory in his home World Rally Championship event. Mikko Hirvonen has opted to start tomorrow's opening leg of Rally Finland at the back of the pack of top priority drivers.
Edited: Jul 31, 2013, 11:16 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Mikko Hirvonen was fastest through this evening's Rally Finland qualifying stage to spark early celebrations among his home town fans in the rally base of Jyvaskyla.
Hirvonen was quickest through the 4.62km Ruuhimaki stage in a Citroen DS3 by 0.248sec from championship leader Sebastien Ogier’s Volkswagen Polo R. A surprise third was Thierry Neuville in a Ford Fiesta RS, 0.437sec adrift of Hirvonen.
Under cloudy skies and humid conditions, Hirvonen admitted at the stage finish that fastest time left him with a tough decision to make later this evening regarding his start position.
“It was an OK stage, but it could have been better,” said the 2009 Rally Finland winner. “I have no idea about what road position to choose, so I don’t know if it was good to be fastest here or not.”
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, Volkswagen Polo WRC, Volkswagen Motorsport
Photo by: Volkswagen Motorsport
Ogier was unperturbed at being beaten by Hirvonen. “It’s a very fast road and although the stage went OK, I didn’t have the perfect feeling with the suspension. But qualifying in Finland isn’t as important as it is on other rallies,” said the Frenchman.
There was no disguising the fire in Neuville’s belly. “I really want to fight this weekend,” said the Belgian. “The stage was perfect but I nearly stalled on the start line. I don’t know how much time I lost but then I pushed to the maximum.”
Evgeny Novikov was fourth in a Fiesta RS, while Jari-Matti Latvala was only fifth in the second Polo R. The Finn had to contend with some padding in the car’s footwell, which had fallen from the area between the roll cage and his seat but he refused to use that as an excuse.
"I was a bit too cautious, especially in the narrow section, where I braked too early for a couple of corners," said Latvala.
Andreas Mikkelsen rounded off the top six, which was covered by less than a second. The Norwegian felt his Polo R was losing traction at the rear in right hand corners while Mads Ostberg believed his Fiesta RS collected a puncture just 200 metres after the start. He was seventh.
Hesitant Hirvonen holds back in Finland
Mikko Hirvonen has opted to start tomorrow's opening leg of Rally Finland at the back of the pack of top priority drivers.
The Finn was fastest in qualifying earlier this evening in his Citroen DS3, earning the right to choose his start position first. And although Hirvonen elected to begin the 48.24km leg last of the top 14 drivers, he admitted to concerns over his decision given the uncertainty of the weather.
Mikko Hirvonen, Citroën DS3 WRC, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
Photo by: XPB Images
“We don’t know how much it will rain tomorrow,” he said. “If it rains then start position will be important, but if it doesn’t then it won’t be as important. I don’t think it’s so crucial to win qualifying in this rally but it’s still nice to be fastest.”
Second quickest Sebastien Ogier opted for the next lowest start position, just in front of Hirvonen. The Frenchman smiled: “I was happy that Mikko was faster because I could see what position he chose. It gives me an idea of Citroen’s weather forecast!”
All the following drivers opted for the next lowest position available.
Finn Riku Tahko, who was slowest in qualifying, will start first. If it stays dry, he faces the unenviable task of sweeping gravel from the road surface to leave an increasingly cleaner and faster line for those behind.
The full start order is:
1. Riku Tahko
2. Martin Prokop
3. P-G Andersson
4. Jarkko Nikara
5. Dani Sordo
6. Kris Meeke
7. Juho Hanninen
8. Mads Ostberg
9. Andreas Mikkelsen
10. Jari-Matti Latvala
11. Evgeny Novikov
12. Thierry Neuville
13. Sebastien Ogier
14. Mikko Hirvonen
WRC
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Rally Finland brings opportunities for Paddon
Next article Volkswagen starts from prime positions in Finland
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Kris Meeke
Kris Meeke secures maiden ERC win in Wales as Teemu Suninen claims title
ERC
ERC
Kris Meeke secures maiden ERC win in Wales as Teemu Suninen claims title
Kris Meeke to make European Rally Championship return in Wales
ERC
ERC
Kris Meeke to make European Rally Championship return in Wales
Meeke wins on rally return in Craig Breen’s honour
WRC
WRC
Meeke wins on rally return in Craig Breen’s honour
More from
Citroën World Rally Team
Citroen reveals new-look 2025 WRC line-up
WRC
WRC
Rally Monte Carlo
Citroen reveals new-look 2025 WRC line-up
Ostberg gets full WRC2 season with Citroen
WRC
WRC
Ostberg gets full WRC2 season with Citroen
Citroen open to making WRC car available to privateers
WRC
WRC
Citroen open to making WRC car available to privateers
Latest news
Spire, Chris Gabehart reject Joe Gibbs Racing premise on deleted texts
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
Spire, Chris Gabehart reject Joe Gibbs Racing premise on deleted texts
Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
6 h
Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 7 h
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
8 h
Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe