Ford has named Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen as nominated drivers for next month's Rally Finland. The Finns will drive an M-Sport prepared 2005-specification Ford Focus RS World Rally Car on their home event, tenth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. They will join BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen as Ford's nominated points scorers.
Gardemeister's BP-Ford team-mates Roman Kresta and Jan Možný will drive a 2003-specification BP Ultimate-branded Focus RS. They will be eligible for drivers' points but will not score for the manufacturers' series.
BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson and Ford took the decision following Hirvonen's outstanding performance on the Acropolis Rally of Greece. He led the rally on the opening leg in a 2003-specification car and maintained his pace throughout to finish fifth. It is the perfect birthday present for Hirvonen who is 25 on July 31, two days before the recce for the rally begins.
Hirvonen, who lives in the Rally Finland's home town of Jyväskylä, drove a works-supported Focus RS World Rally Car on all 14 rounds of the 2003 championship. His best result was sixth in Cyprus and he contributed to Ford's record-breaking run of 52 consecutive points finishes.
"Mikko has shown excellent speed on both the Rally Italia Sardinia and the Acropolis Rally of Greece in a car that is two years old," said Wilson. "The Rally Finland is the most specialised event in the world championship and it takes several years' experience of the roads there before a driver can hope to be truly competitive. Mikko grew up on Finnish roads and the combination of his understanding of the nature of the stages and his speed means he deserves his chance.
"This move will also help Roman come to terms with a rally that is new to him. He can discover the characteristics of the Finnish roads at his own pace without having to worry about pushing to score points for Ford. He has shown this season that he is a quick learner and by removing the pressure from him in this way, he can concentrate fully on gaining as much experience as possible."
Hirvonen added: "This is fantastic news and a huge vote of confidence for me. I am totally committed to getting the very best possible result for Ford and, personally for Malcolm. Returning to the Ford team means I will be working with old friends so there will be no problems in settling in. I haven't driven the 2005-specification Focus RS before but I will have a day's testing in Finland before the rally to enable me to get used to it."
