Team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila finished eighth in another Focus RS WRC after a superb recovery drive following an accident yesterday morning. The double points haul keeps Ford in second place in the manufacturers' standings, 15 points from the lead. Hirvonen remains third in the drivers' championship, five points ahead of fourth-placed Latvala.
After five previous encounters in southern Turkey, this fourth round of the championship moved north to Istanbul. After a start ceremony in the shadow of the famous Blue Mosque, the rally crossed from the European part of the city to the Asian quarter, where the rally was based. Rocky roads north-east of the city near the Black Sea coastline proved a tough challenge for cars and tyres, while organisers took advantage of new rules for 2010 to spice up the action further with mixed surface speed tests.
Hirvonen led initially and ended the opening leg in third after intense competition which saw the top six cars covered by just 27sec. He retained third during the second leg and started the final day just 17.3sec from the lead. However, torrential overnight rain turned this morning's opening two special stages into a mudbath and they were cancelled. It reduced today's competitive distance by a third and with fewer kilometres in which to close the gap, Hirvonen attacked hard once the action started. Â
However, in treacherously muddy conditions, he slid wide 1.5km from the start of the 19.22km Ballica test and hit a rock, puncturing the rear left tyre. He lost more than 45sec driving to the end of the stage and dropped to fourth. However, he regained third on the next stage when Dani Sordo retired and drove cautiously through the final two tests to consolidate a podium position.
"I decided to chase the victory this morning but the two cancelled stages didn't help me," said 29-year-old Hirvonen. "The car slid wide at a very fast place and hit a rock, puncturing the tyre. The tyre was destroyed after 10km but we decided to continue and only lost about 45sec, so that was the right decision. The impact also damaged the lining of the wheel arch and the car filled with dust and grit. It was so bad I couldn't see properly.
"We only made one mistake but we ended the day on the podium where we started, so it's not so bad. After what happened, third was the best we could achieve. It's not what I hoped for this weekend but the puncture destroyed my hopes of a win," he added.
Latvala ended the first leg in sixth but rolled just 1km after the start of the opening test on the second leg. He dropped nine minutes before spectators lifted the car back onto its wheels and lost more time on the remaining two tests before service as the turbo boost pipe was damaged in the crash. He slid to 17th but climbed to 12th by the end of the day. A fast, but cautious, drive today enabled the 25-year-old to move up to eighth.
"It was an up and down weekend," he said. "Sitting in the car upside down wasn't a good place to be yesterday morning, but we scored manufacturers' and drivers' points so in the end it wasn't so bad. This was the hardest event of the year and the most demanding rally for the car that I've ever driven on. After the accident I thought I could take something from the rally, but I'm surprised to finish as high as eighth."
BP Ford Abu Dhabi team director Malcolm Wilson was pleased Hirvonen recovered to claim a podium finish. "Sadly our chances evaporated with the cancelled stages, but Mikko salvaged third on what was the hardest event in the championship. The situation in the manufacturers' championship is virtually unchanged as only one point separated us from our rivals on this rally," he said.
Ford of Europe motorsport chief Gerard Quinn said: "The conditions here have been widely accepted as the toughest so far this season. However, we had no mechanical problems with our cars and Pirelli's tyres performed superbly in the most arduous situation. It was refreshing to see how competitive our drivers were and how closely-fought this rally was. Hopefully this will distance the sport from the controversies that followed Rally Jordan."
News from other Ford teams
The privately-entered Ford Fiesta S2000 of Dennis Kuipers and Frederic Miclotte finished ninth and the car headed the S2000 category for the third consecutive WRC round.
Next round
The BP Ford Abu Dhabi squad faces its longest journey of the season for round five. Rally New Zealand is based in Auckland on 6 - 9 May and is primarily a gravel event on fast and flowing roads on North Island, but with short asphalt sections included in several tests.
Final positions
1. S Loeb/D Elena                     FRA            Citroen C4             3hr 01min 38.7sec
2. P Solberg/P Mills                  NOR            Citroen C4             3hr 02min 33.2sec
3. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen              FIN            Ford Focus RS  3hr 03min 22.1sec
4. S Ogier/J Ingrassia                FRA            Citroen C4             3hr 05min 24.7sec
5. K Räikkönen/K Lindström            FIN            Citroen C4             3hr 08min 23.0sec
6. F Villagra/J Diaz                  ARG            Ford Focus RS  3hr 09min 35.4sec
7. M Wilson/S Martin          GBR            Ford Focus RS  3hr 10min 08.5sec
8. J-M Latvala/M Anttila              FIN            Ford Focus RS  3hr 21min 22.9sec
9. D Kuipers/F Miclotte               HOL            Ford Fiesta S2000      3hr 25min 00.9sec
10 A B urkart/A Kachel                  DEU            Suzuki Swift           3hr 28min 43.4sec
Drivers                                               Â
1. S Loeb                       93pts               Â
2. P Solberg                    53pts               Â
3. M Hirvonen           52pts               Â
4. J-M Latvala          47pts               Â
5. S Ogier                      45pts               Â
6. D Sordo                      24pts
Manufacturers Â
1. Citroen Total              126pts
2. BP Ford Abu Dhabi          111pts
3. Citroen Junior               75pts
4. Stobart M-Sport Ford        56pts
5. Munchi's Ford                26pts
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