Norway : Ford World Rally Team - Leg 1The BP Ford World Rally Team lie first and second after controlling today's opening leg of Rally Norway. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen led this third round of Championship from the opening kilometre in their Ford Focus RS World
Rally Car. They ended the day with a 15.5sec advantage over team-mates Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen in a the sister Focus RS.
Just a week after a dominant victory in the Swedish Rally, the team continued where it left off in similar wintry conditions in Norway. Hirvonen won two of the eight speed tests covering 143.10km in the Kongsvinger forests, north-east of Oslo and close to the Swedish border. Grönholm settled into second on the opening test and maintained his place throughout the day.
The tiny town centre of Hamar was packed last night as 10,000 Norwegians celebrated their country's first appearance in the WRC at the start ceremony. The biggest sporting event in the country since the 1994 Winter Olympics at nearby Lillehammer has captured the public's imagination and huge crowds are expected on the special stages throughout the weekend.
After a period of intense cold weather with plenty of snow, temperatures have risen and hovered just below freezing this morning.
The roads were in perfect condition with snow covering the icy base, although drivers reported gravel breaking through the ice on the single stage that was used twice. Both Hirvonen and Grönholm fitted long studs to their skinny BFGoodrich tyres to penetrate the snow and dig into the ice to provide maximum grip and traction.
Hirvonen dominated the opening 30.03km Loten stage, powering his Focus RS to fastest time over team-mate Grönholm by 11.1sec and setting the scene for the day. He was also fastest when the stage was repeated and the gap between the 26-year-old Finn and his 39-year-old team-mate and fellow countryman barely fluctuated.
"This was one of the best days of my career," he said. "I drove really hard and I'm fighting with Marcus and Loeb which is a great feeling. I woke up feeling confident and decided to attack hard although I was a little surprised to be leading. I'm driving at my own pace and not looking at the split times of others. I have to continue attacking because Marcus and Loeb are pushing hard but I'm not worried and I can keep this pace up, although it will be easy to make a mistake.
"The long stage early in the morning could be crucial. I will be 15th car to start and by that time it could be quite gravely so tyre choice will be difficult. It's hard deciding what length stud I should choose. I got it slightly wrong this afternoon and lost a little time but that was my only problem today," he added.
Grönholm, winner in Sweden on Sunday, found it less easy to come to terms with a new event. "Conditions were good but it was difficult to find the right rhythm with new pace notes, and the whole day didn't feel quite right," he said. "I think my notes were too optimistic and I made a few changes during the stages. It's not easy without previous knowledge of the roads. There was a lot of snow and I wasn't so confident with that or my notes."
"Tomorrow my start position will give me cleaner roads. I need to find a better rhythm and not lose so much time nudging the snow banks. I must drive more cleanly and not go so wide in the junctions. It's not easy to find the braking points but when you don't know the stages well, it's important to brake early and not go wide," he added.
BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson was delighted with 'an excellent team performance'. "Both cars ran faultlessly and Mikko's pace today proves that a new event, where previous experience isn't a factor, is a great leveller. Mikko has done a good recce and has a good set of pace notes," he said.
Ford World Rally Team
