Sport | Other Sports

Loeb and Hirvonen battle at Rally Finland breaks records

Intense war of speed between the two drivers continues as BP Ford Abu Dhabi's man chases the leader on second day of Rally Finland.

  • By K.R. Nayar, Senior Reporter
  • Published: 00:09 August 3, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Supplied Picture
  • Mikko Hirvonen of BP Ford Abu Dhabi in action on the second day of Rally Finland. He has been in hot pursuit of Citroen’s Sebastian Loeb throughout with the rivalry leading to record-breaking speeds at this year's event.

Jyvaskyla, Finland: Rally Finland lived up to its full glory yesterday with Citroen's Sebastian Loeb and BP Ford Abu Dhabi's Finnish hero Mikko Hirvonen carrying the exciting battle for supremacy into the second day.

The rally routes were filled with fans as the two raced at blistering speed in a rally known as one of the fastest in the world. Though Hirvonen is 14.4 seconds behind Loeb at the beginning of the day he got off to a splendid start winning the opening 15.35km Himos Test.

So intense was the battle that Hirvonen went on to clock three seconds faster than Loeb in the 10,67km Hirvimaki and the 14.80km Surkee stages and returned to the Jyvaskyla service park to a loud cheer from his home fans. He is now 15.7 seconds behind Loeb.

All eyes are on Hirvonen, who tops the overall drivers' championship by three points. The home fans are keen to see Hirvonen win because in this rally only six times have non-Finnish rally drivers managed to win in its 57 year history.

Taking risks

"I am enjoying every moment of it as I am driving in front of my family and friends," said Hirvonen.

"The battle is similar to the one I had with Marcus Gronholm. I have been driving as hard as I could and has made sure not to make any mistakes. I am little disappointed that I could not do anymore. I could have taken risks yesterday but that's something I did not want to do."

When asked about Jari Matti Latvala's crash, Hirvonen said: "I haven't allowed Jari's retirement affect me. I am trying to put in my best."

So fast has been the rally that both Loeb and Hirvonen have smashed event's record. Loeb's demolition of Hirvonen's 2007 Surkee stage time, crashed by 10 seconds yesterday.

"The speed today in the morning has been absolutely crazy. I went flat out. I'm following Loeb's lines and I can see that he too is right on the edge. It is indeed a fantastic fight," Hirvonen said.

To a query on the new stages, Hirvonen remarked: "The new stages are fine but they are narrow. On the third stage I set the record last year. I was faster than that timing today and still I wasn't quick because I went too wide on the final bend."

So far seven out of the original 99 starters have dropped out completely. Latvala, who crashed on Friday, started yesterday in 86th position. He later got back his form and finished third on the Hirvimaki and Surkee stages.

Talking about his disastrous first day, Latvala said: "I was unfortunate. As I approached a left-right-left combination of bends I decided to keep the car straight as I could. However, I hit a rock, which wasn't in my pace notes, with the front right of the car."

Shaikh Khalid Al Qassmi is set for a commendable top 20 finish. He had raced up to the 15th place by Friday evening but spun out on the third stage in the morning and had dropped down to 18th place. He recovered by mid morning and has climbed to 14th pace. Incidentally it is his highest position this week at the Rally Finland half way point.

"This is dummy text and should be replaced dummy dummy dumm du dum dummy dumm dummm dum du ."

Dummyfirst Lastname

Dummy quote title

fame

fans flock to qassimi

As soon as Shaikh Khalid Al Qassimi walked into the service park yesterday, hundreds of rally fans cheered him and some waved a banner stating they are his fans.

Qassimi walked amongst them and signed autographs. He also chatted with them and posed for pictures with fans from Sweden who had developed an admiration for him during the Sweden rally.

"Unlike other drivers, I don't walk off after signing autographs," Qassimi told Gulf News. "I talk to them and make sure to ask their names too. During the Sweden rally some fans wanted me to go out with them and I promptly went out for dinner with them."

Shaikh Khalid has played the role of the sporting ambassador of Abu Dhabi successfully throughout this rally. He also stole attention when he beat off top drivers to win the inaugural Colin Crest or longest jump competition at Rally Sweden.

-K.R.N.

More from Other sports

  1. Bubka faces new hurdle after ticket scandal

  2. Doha and Baku face scrutiny in 2020 bid choice

  3. Indian female wrestler grapples with gender bias

  4. Running down the metres

All articles in Other sports

More from Sport

Gulf News
Popular in Other Sports
Multimedia
Sport Editor's choice