Rallye Japan: Hirvonen Celebrated his Second Victory
(bke) Marcus Grönholm and Sébastian Loeb, competitors for the title at the World Rally Championship, remained without any scores. The winner was Mikko Hirvonen with his Ford Focus.
Fog and ice as well as heavy rain overnight made the roads very slippery at Japan's most northerly island of Hokkaido. Nevertheless Marcus Grönholm put all the eggs in one basket right from the start. The Finish WM leader took over the top until the 3rd special test. Then he slipped from the road and damaged the roll cage of his Ford Focus. Thus he had to stop the race. Also his competitor Sébastian Loeb (Citroen C4) slipped from the track. Due to his breakdown the threefold world champion again makes the fight for the title thrilling – Marcus Grönholm keeps his four point advantage.
The Ford pilot Mikko Hirvonen controlled the field in Japan and safely won the day. He achieved a 37,4 sec advantage against Daniel Sordo (Citroen C4). Henning Solberg (Ford Focus) came in third and made a "podium place" already for the second time this year after his rallye at home in Norway.
The next race will take place from 16 to 18 November in Ireland.
