Flying Finns full of confidence in Japan

Sapporo, Japan: BP Ford Abu Dhabi's Flying Finns — Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala — emerged from Rally Japan's opening day confident of making it three wins in a row at the Sapporo-based FIA World Rally Championships (WRC) tenth round.

After a dramatic day of action, Hirvonen and Latvala managed to grab competitive second and fourth positions respectively, setting them up convincingly for Rally Japan's longest day of action today.

Separated by just 9.4 seconds from day leader, Petter Solberg, yesterday afternoon saw a return to form for Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)-backed Hirvonen.

Hindered by the dry, sandy tracks characteristic of the Far East test, Hirvonen started the day slightly off the pace. However, the 12-time WRC winner found his rhythm after the first service to clock up the fastest times in stages 7 and 8, putting him in a strong position to clinch his third Japan victory.

"We definitely have a solid chance of winning here. We have the speed, so everything should be there. Fingers crossed, if everything goes well, we are definitely going to go for it," said Hirvonen, who narrowly missed out on 2009's WRC Drivers' Championship.

BP Ford Abu Dhabi's Latvala, who suffered an unfortunate technical failure at the start of the day, put in some consistent performances on the second running of the stages, including a win on stage 5 when he finished 2.5 seconds ahead of Hirvonen.

"There are really big ruts on the stages, it is more like a motorcross track in places and there are really big banks," added Latvala.

Less fortunate was Abu Dhabi's Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi and his co-driver Michael Orr who succumbed to the Far Eastern elements during the morning's opening stage.

Rolling their Ford Focus just two kilometres into their first Rally Japan, the duo had to call time on their adventure, as damage to the car was too severe to restart.