A thrilling opening day at the World Rally Championship decider in Great Britain ended with Ford World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen lying second, just 5.3sec from the lead.
The Finns, in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, traded seconds with drivers' title
rivals Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena through six speed tests in the muddy forests of mid-Wales, before journeying south to the Rally of Great Britain's Cardiff base Friday evening with the title outcome still in the balance.
Team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila are ninth in another Focus RS WRC after struggling through virtually the entire day with only two-wheel drive on their car.
Just a single point separated the title protagonists going into this 12th and final round of the season. After Thursday night's start ceremony in the Welsh capital, drivers faced the long journey north to tackle two identical loops of three special stages covering 130.30km in the classic forests of central Wales.
The gravel tracks were muddy and slippery after rain throughout the week, and fog on Friday morning ensured all the ingredients for a classic Rally of Great Britain were in place.
As expected, Hirvonen and Loeb established themselves at the top of the leaderboard from the very start. Ford's 29-year-old Finn was second in all three tests during the opening loop to reach the short service halt in Builth Wells 8.9sec behind his rival. The team lowered the ride height on Hirvonen's car there and he won the first and last stages in the second loop to reduce the margin to 5.3sec as cars headed south for the overnight halt.
"It wasn't a perfect morning but it wasn't a disaster either," said Hirvonen. "I was too cautious and made some small mistakes. I slid too wide in some corners and perhaps I was trying to drive too hard. I felt confident but I knew I needed to make my driving neater because I couldn't afford to drop any more seconds. My driving was much better this afternoon and if I can keep that level tomorrow then I will be happy.
"We're two Finns in a rally car that are fighting for our lives. The battle is on. I wanted to end the day in close contact with Loeb and I've achieved that. The weather forecast for tomorrow is bad and I think we're going to get rain, fog and high winds in the morning. If that's the case then I have to trust my pace notes and push hard. I'm not scared of making a m
istake," Hirvonen declared.
Latvala's hopes were dented on the opening stage in Hafren when a front left driveshaft broke, which in turn damaged the pipe containing the fluid for the front brakes.
The fluid leaked out leaving the 24-year-old Finn with no braking at the front as well as only rear-wheel drive. He dropped four minutes to reach Builth Wells service in 10th.
Source: http://www.inforally.sibiul.ro
The Finns, in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, traded seconds with drivers' title
rivals Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena through six speed tests in the muddy forests of mid-Wales, before journeying south to the Rally of Great Britain's Cardiff base Friday evening with the title outcome still in the balance.
Team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila are ninth in another Focus RS WRC after struggling through virtually the entire day with only two-wheel drive on their car.
Just a single point separated the title protagonists going into this 12th and final round of the season. After Thursday night's start ceremony in the Welsh capital, drivers faced the long journey north to tackle two identical loops of three special stages covering 130.30km in the classic forests of central Wales.
The gravel tracks were muddy and slippery after rain throughout the week, and fog on Friday morning ensured all the ingredients for a classic Rally of Great Britain were in place.
As expected, Hirvonen and Loeb established themselves at the top of the leaderboard from the very start. Ford's 29-year-old Finn was second in all three tests during the opening loop to reach the short service halt in Builth Wells 8.9sec behind his rival. The team lowered the ride height on Hirvonen's car there and he won the first and last stages in the second loop to reduce the margin to 5.3sec as cars headed south for the overnight halt.
"It wasn't a perfect morning but it wasn't a disaster either," said Hirvonen. "I was too cautious and made some small mistakes. I slid too wide in some corners and perhaps I was trying to drive too hard. I felt confident but I knew I needed to make my driving neater because I couldn't afford to drop any more seconds. My driving was much better this afternoon and if I can keep that level tomorrow then I will be happy.
"We're two Finns in a rally car that are fighting for our lives. The battle is on. I wanted to end the day in close contact with Loeb and I've achieved that. The weather forecast for tomorrow is bad and I think we're going to get rain, fog and high winds in the morning. If that's the case then I have to trust my pace notes and push hard. I'm not scared of making a m
istake," Hirvonen declared.Latvala's hopes were dented on the opening stage in Hafren when a front left driveshaft broke, which in turn damaged the pipe containing the fluid for the front brakes.
The fluid leaked out leaving the 24-year-old Finn with no braking at the front as well as only rear-wheel drive. He dropped four minutes to reach Builth Wells service in 10th.
Source: http://www.inforally.sibiul.ro