One stage win and a 4th place for Hirvonen

Mikko Hirvonen recorded the best WRC result of his young career yesterday by finishing fourth on Rally Argentina. The 23-year-old Finnish star pushed hard all day in his Subaru Impreza WRC2004, regularly beating the times of other far more experienced drivers. Setting top-three times on all of the day's five stages, Hirvonen and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen rounded off a successful weekend by claiming their first loose-surface stage win on the tricky SS24 section.

Mikko Hirvonen"Those last two stages were very difficult and narrow, and I had to take it steady to the end. Both Saturday and Sunday were very good and it was great to be fighting for a potential podium place. The car was excellent and the team and tyres have worked very well. I've really enjoyed this rally with so many different conditions it has a bit of everything. I'm looking forward to Finland where it's going to be much quicker and I'll try to continue to challenge the leaders."

David Lapworth, Team Principal"We are very pleased with Mikko's performance. Perhaps the most important thing is that he has been doing very good times - including his first stage win on gravel - while driving well within his limits. We obviously still have a sense of disappointment about Petter's retirement, but take consolation from another demonstration of the speed of the car, knowing the problems are unlikely to re- occur. A year ago our strength was our performance in rough and twisty events. With the 2004WRC Subaru Impreza we now relish the faster events too and both Petter and Mikko will be going for it in Finland."

It's back to Europe for round nine of the World Rally Championship as teams prepare for the challenge of Rally Finland, which starts from the town of Jyvaskyla on Friday 06 August. One of the most famous events of the season, the rally is based on the smooth, flowing gravel roads around Jyvaskyla and features some of the highest speeds and biggest jumps of the year.