Mikko Hirvonen wins the Acropolis Rally!
Sordo stops on SS9!
SS7: Loeb crashes out of the Acropolis!
Citroen duo on preservation mission
Another chance for Citroen’s Juniors to prove themselves
Can Ford keep up the winning momentum?

Mikko Hirvonen wins the Acropolis Rally!
BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team driver Mikko Hirvonen has won the Acropolis Rally of Greece, round seven of the 2009 World Rally Championship, after a perfect drive through the toughest conditions of the season in his Focus RS WRC.
The 28-year-old Finn carried a comfortable lead into Sunday’s final five stages, and kept out of trouble to finish 1min 12.9sec ahead of the man in second place, Citroen Junior team driver Sebastien Ogier.
The win was the eighth of Hirvonen’s WRC career and ended a victory drought that extended back to Rally Japan in 2008. After four second places this year, a perfect 10 point finish reignites his battle with Citroen’s Sebastien Loeb for this year’s drivers’ championship title.
Two rallies ago, Mikko trailed Loeb by 20 points, but a maximum score here, combined with Loeb’s exit on Saturday, means he’s now just seven behind. It was a remarkable turn around for the Finn who looked in a vulnerable position as road sweeper on Saturday morning.
“It really did look very difficult at the start but it worked out okay - a perfect weekend!” said Hirvonen. “It’s been a clever drive with no mistakes and no punctures. We thought before this event that if you get through without any problems you’ll be okay. It’s great for the team. Now we’re back in the game again - the timing couldn’t have been better!”
On the occasion of his first ever WRC podium finish, Ogier was celebrating too: “Perfect!” said the Frenchman. “This weekend was all about conservation. We made no mistakes and we looked after the car and the tyres. Just one puncture all weekend and the car has run perfectly. I couldn’t have hoped for a better result that this.”
Hirvonen’s team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala finished third, 32.1sec behind Ogier’s C4, to conclude a remarkable salvage job after going off the road on Friday. Latvala’s efforts earned Ford a maximum 18 points in the manufacturers’ championship, and went some way to restoring his team’s faith in him after his Day one disaster.
“Things can turn around quite quickly,” he grinned. “It was important for me to get this result, because now we have a better chance against Citroen. It’s my second podium in a row, so that’s a positive too. The next rounds in Poland and Finland are important for me and the team - I want to do better there.” Extract from www.wrc.com

Sordo stops on SS9!
Dani Sordo stops four kilometres from the start
The remaining Citroen Total driver has stopped four kilometres from the start line. He is reported to be changing two wheels on his Citroen C4 WRC.
Petter Solberg, the competitor following Sordo through the stage, has been shown the yellow safety flag by marshals and instructed to complete the stage at road speed.  

SS7: Loeb crashes out of the Acropolis!
World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb crashed out of the Acropolis rally on this morning’s opening stage - the 17.25km Klenia Mycenae.
The Frenchman’s Citroen C4 WRC left the road eight kilometres from the start on a high speed sixth gear section. The Citroen Total team has confirmed that Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena are okay.
Sources on the stage report the car is a long way from the road and is badly damaged. The C4 sustained a heavy impact on Loeb’s side and is missing a wheel.
Loeb had been third overall before the crash. If he is unable to restart as a SuperRally entrant on Sunday it will be his first non-finish since Sweden 2008, and only his third since 2006.
Rally leader, and Loeb’s chief championship rival, Mikko Hirvonen could hardly believe the news when he was told at the finish control. “That’s something new,” he said. “But there a long way to go yet. I need to keep it together myself.”
Second placed Dani Sordo narrowed the gap to Hirvonen to 1.8sec, but said he was happy to remain where he was for now. After three seasons as Loeb’s support driver at Citroen, the Spaniard now has a rare chance to push for his first WRC victory this weekend. “I don’t know what we’ll do yet,” he said. “I’m not pushing Mikko too hard, at the moment I’m controlling my pace to look after my tyres.”
Petter Solberg moved up to third overall, 38.9sec behind Sordo. After his last stage disaster on Friday, Jari-Matti Latvala was quickest through the stage and pleased to discover that a good points haul for Ford wasn’t out of the question. “That [Loeb’s exit] makes my situation easier,” he said. “But now we need to be sensible, we need to get as many points as possible.” Latvala moved up a place from 11th to tenth overall, 3min 09.5sec off the lead. www.wrc.com

Follow this link to see the complete list of stage times

Citroen duo on preservation mission
After a miserable time on the most recent WRC round in Sardinia, Citroen factory drivers Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo are hoping to return to their winning form in Greece, and reckon tyre preservation is the way to do it.
Loeb’s record breaking run of six consecutive wins came to an end on Rally d’Italia after he failed to catch the two Ford drivers ahead of him, and later received a two-minute penalty when co-driver Daniel Elena broke safety belt regulations.
But despite a healthy 17-point lead in the drivers' standings, Loeb insisted he would be straight back on the attack and aiming for his 53rd career victory in Greece. “Yes I will be out to win - as we saw in Sardinia, nothing can ever be taken for granted and we can't afford to ease up in any way,” he said. “I'm expecting it to be a difficult event, especially since our rivals have a habit of going well in Greece."
Thanks to previous wins in 2005 and 2008, Loeb is well aware of what it takes to succeed in Greece - and last year it was to steer clear of punctures. "Sometimes you really mustn't hesitate to lift over the rougher parts to make sure you don't damage anything or puncture. Our C4 and our Pirelli tyres are very strong, but you're talking here about very extreme conditions, especially when the weather is hot," he explained.
"It's true that last year's outcome was chiefly down to tyre management. It just wasn't possible to drive the entire rally flat out. It didn't take me long to realise that our tyres wouldn't be able withstand that sort of rhythm on the long Aghii Teodori test. I found a good compromise pace and that enabled me to complete that loop of stages without puncturing. With experience, you get to sense whether you're asking too much of your machine."
Team-mates Dani Sordo and co-driver Marc Marti are also targeting a podium finish this week. Sordo finished fifth in Greece last year after being eliminated from the fight for top spot by a number of punctures. This time round, the Spaniard hopes to be able to profit from his experience to target a better result:
"It will an interesting event because there are so many new stages,” he said. “The Acropolis is a rally I enjoy and I believe I can play a front-running role. We were down on luck last year, but we were competitive, so we will try to be consistent and look after our car as best we can. My objective is the same as ever, and that is to score as many points as possible to help Citroen increase its lead in the Manufacturers' standings.
“If that permits me to recover second place in the Drivers' championship from Mikko Hirvonen, then so much the better!" he added. (thanks to www.wrc.com)

Another chance for Citroen’s Juniors to prove themselves
Three weeks after a mixed result in Sardinia - which brought a career best fifth place for Evgeny Novikov but retirement for Sebastien Ogier and Conrad Rautenbach - the Citroen Junior Team will once more line up three C4 WRCs for the start of the Acropolis Rally.
In common with Italian round, Conrad Rautenbach and Evgeny Novikov have been nominated to score manufacturer points for the team, which currently lies fourth in the manufacturers’ standings - 25 points behind the third placed Stobart Ford team.
This week Conrad Rautenbach, who is co-driven by Daniel Barritt, will be starting his fifth Acropolis Rally and his second at the wheel of a Citroen C4 WRC.
“We learned a lot in Sardinia, thanks to the very tricky roads there and the hot temperatures,” said the Zimbabwean. “I think we are well-prepared for Greece now. There are some new stages planned for this year, which are a bonus for us as we are still just gaining experience. I’m impatient for the rally to start now, so that we can demonstrate our progress.”
After a trouble-free rally on the last round in Italy, Evgeny Novikov and co-driver Dale Moscatt scored their first ever World Rally Championship points by finishing fifth. In Greece, which shares certain characteristics with Sardinia, the Russian driver hopes to continue making progress.
“The result in Sardinia was a huge source of satisfaction for us,” he said. “This year, our aim is simply to learn, whilst at the same time demonstrating that we are capable of putting in some good performances. In Greece, I want to stick with the same sort of pace. The rally will once more be an extremely tricky one, with temperatures that are likely to exceed 50°C in the cockpit.”
Reigning J-WRC champions Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia endured another tricky event in Sardinia, where damper problems and an accident prevented them from completing a full day of the competition. Ogier’s 2009 programme remains unclear beyond Poland, but would certainly benefit from a reliable run in Greece.
“The objective remains the same,” confirmed the Frenchman, who will drive a 2008-specification C4 this week. “The plan is to be as consistent as possible throughout the rally in order to be sure of making the finish. The conditions in Greece are likely to be even tougher than they were in Italy. It’s going to be a question of staying very careful and concentrated throughout both the recce and the actual rally. I hope to have something to show for it all at the end!” (thanks to www.wrc.com)

Can Ford keep up the winning momentum?
Following their one-two finish on Rally d’Italia last month, Ford drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Mikko Hirvonen are hoping to keep the pressure on Citroen next week in Greece.
A maximum 18 points in Sardinia gave the Ford team a much needed boost at the season midpoint, and enabled them to narrow the gap on championship leaders Sebastien Loeb and the Citroen team. In the manufacturers’ battle, Ford trails Citroen 61 points to 90, while in the drivers’ standings, Hirvonen is Loeb’s closest rival on 38 and 55 points respectively.
After winning in Sardinia, Latvala, 24, said he was brimming with confidence ahead the Greek round but was trying to resist his natural urge to go flat out from the start. Jari-Matti made his World Rally Car debut on the Acropolis in 2003 and has tackled it four more times since. He was leading on the opening day in 2008 before losing time first with a puncture then later on after hitting a rock. "I want to fight for another win in Greece. But the most important thing is to start steadily, rather than at full attack, and monitor the pace of the others. That's the clever way to do it,” said Latvala.
“It will also be interesting to see what advantage might be gained from road position. I have a good start position on Friday but I won't know until the recce just how much gravel there is on Saturday's new stages.
"There are many new roads and it will be important to stay concentrated during the recce when we make our pace notes. On slower roads there is a temptation to put in too much information, whereas on faster roads there is less detail,” added Latvala.
This will be the sixth Acropolis start for Hirvonen, 28, who finished third in both 2006 and 2008. “Conditions are likely to be very similar to Sardinia, but rougher," he said. "There are so many new stages this year that it's almost like tackling a new rally. I seem to do well on new rallies, so I hope the same is true here. Acropolis is so tough that it's probably the only event in the season where a driver must think seriously about protecting the car. It's still flat out all the way, but I must be careful where I brake and give some thought to looking after the tyres.”
Coming from Finland, Latvala and Hirvonen are more used to ice and snow than the scorching heat of Greece, but both felt they would cope in the conditions. “It's important to learn how to handle the heat before the rally,” explained Jari-Matti. “I will go for a run or for a cycle ride to get used to it. Staying inside, away from the sunshine in the air conditioning, is the wrong way to do it," he added.
Hirvonen said the heat was most noticeable before the stage starts. "Especially when I'm changing tyres and also sitting in the car with my seat belts and helmet on, waiting for three or four minutes to start a stage,” he said. “There is no air getting into the car. On the stages themselves air comes into the car, and I'm so concentrated on driving and listening to Jarmo reading the pace notes that it doesn't feel so bad," added Hirvonen.
Abu Dhabi's Khalid Al Qassimi will drive a third Focus RS WRC for the team. Greece was not originally part of his programme but he will now contest this event instead of Rally Poland. "We endured a huge amount of bad lack in Sardinia and I hope similar conditions in Greece will be kinder to us." said Al Qassimi. (thanks to www.wrc.com)

More on www.wrc.com

Event Website: www.acropolisrally.gr/en