Mikko Hirvonen battled hard to reach second overall position at the Cyprus Rally last week-end. The fight and pace were closer during Saturday’s and Sunday’s gravel stages, but Friday’s tarmac tests cost the Ford team driver crucial time.
The cars were equipped with gravel tyres for the entirety of the season’s only mixed-surface rally. During the opening day of the Cypriot event, Hirvonen did not tame the tarmac as quickly as the eventual Cyprus Rally winner, Citroen Sport’s Sebastien Loeb.
“I think we lost the race on Friday,” Hirvonen assessed. “I was completely lost with my driving. I did not do my homework well enough on how the tyres were working on tarmac.”
Co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen came to the same conclusion: “It was obviously on Friday where he lost the time and found it hard to win. It never happened.”
“Then again, the last two days were a lot better. I was pleased with my speed,” Hirvonen added.
Despite the difficulties he encountered as he adapted to driving with gravel tyres on the tarmac stages, the factory Ford driver agrees with the concept of mixed-surface rallies: “Even though it did not work for us, it wasn’t a bad idea.”
The roadside gravel being thrown onto the asphalt with each passing car actually improved the race conditions, he discovered: “The second pass through was like driving on gravel anyway.”
Loeb’s victory in Cyprus also marked the 50th win of his World Rally Championship career. Hirvonen congratulated his rival at the finish line and proceeded to trace the number ‘50’ on Loeb’s mud-covered car.
“Fifty wins for Seb is amazing,” stated Hirvonen. “If he keeps going it probably means 50 second places for me!”
“When I think of the time and how many years he has been driving, it is unbelievable,” he continued. “He has my full respect.”
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