Finns hoping for home win in anniversary weekend

Abu Dhabi: This week's Rally Finland will mark Abu Dhabi's first year in the World Rally Championship and the team hopes to mark it with a win.

The BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team takes a nine-point manufacturers' standing lead into the rally, which runs from, July 31 to August 3 and is the ninth round of the 15-event series.

Victory in Rally Finland is one of the sport's most sought-after achievements and home drivers have a distinct advantage on one of the season's most specialised events.

Only six non-Finns have won the rally in 57 years, and huge crowds flock into the countryside lakes and forests to line the route.

The Abu Dhabi team's Finnish drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala will be aiming for a home win.

Hirvonen's seventh appearance at Rally Finland comes on the back of a second place finish last year - his best Rally Finland result to date.

The lead BP-Ford Abu Dhabi driver, who will celebrate his 28th birthday on Thursday, said: "I've stood beside these stages since I was a kid watching heroes like Markku Alen and Ari Vatanen driving.

Podium finish

"My family and friends will all be out watching and it would be a fantastic feeling to stand on the top step of the podium in front of them on the Sunday afternoon.

"But there are other drivers who are capable of preventing me from doing that. "There is a little more pressure on me to win in Finland than on other rallies but it's nothing I can't cope with.

"I can't wait because it's the first time that I will start my home rally leading the championship.

"This rally is all about bravery, trust in the pace notes and accuracy. There is simply no room for mistakes."

Team-mate Latvala is just as eager for the action to start.

He said: "It would be special to win on home ground in Finland.

"Victory here is more highly regarded than in some other world rallies. It requires solid event experience and I need to drive flat out from start to finish without making mistakes.

"I know parts of Saturday's new stages, some of which are narrower than the traditional wide roads used during the second leg but I'm confident of a podium finish," said the 23-year-old.

The drivers will compete over a 1461.58km, three-day route.