Hirvonen and Sordo happy… Subaru in the doldrums

Mikko Hirvonen took the lead of the Rally Japan during the first day after his teammate Marcus Grönholm retired. Freed from Sébastien Loeb the next day, he claimed his third career victory.

« It was a strange and difficult rally », admits the winner. « But it went perfectly for us. The conditions were difficult with fog, ice, and rain during the weekend. »

« Marcus [Gronholm]’s retirement put pressure on me to score points for the constructors’ championship and to help him win the drivers’ title, » continues the Finn.

« We had to resist Loeb and try to beat him. We succeeded, it’s a good operation in the championship. »

The most important event of the season for the Subaru team ends with a very disappointing result. None of the three drivers was able to complete all the scheduled stages at home.

“This was a difficult rally,” admits Richard Taylor, the head of Bleus. “The result is disappointing for our team and our fans. Nevertheless, the five best times achieved by Petter and Xevi are somewhat of a consolation but far from our goals. The whole team must now work even harder to improve our performances in the last two events of the season.”

In the final standings, Petter Solberg finished 17th and Xevi Pons 37th. Chris Atkinson retired after going off the road.

Avoiding the slips unlike his teammate Sébastien Loeb, as well as Marcus Grönholm and Jari-Matti Latvala, Dani Sordo secures a strong second position at the finish of this 14th round of the season.

“This was not an easy race to negotiate,” he explained, dripping with champagne as he stepped down from the podium.

« We had to be cautious on these very slippery dirt tracks. The combination of fast roads and often changing grip forced us to be very vigilant for three days. I am happy with my second place and the experience gained on this type of terrain. It will be useful for the rest of my career. We also conducted positive setup tests in preparation for Britain in early December. »

*According to the WRC*