Mikko Hirvonen Threatens Sebastien Loeb Reign?

Title sealed, it was time for Ogier to rub it in to his rivals even though Hirvonen bowed out in style.

For better or for worse the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) has entered a new era. One marque comprehensively dominates proceedings with little resistance from any other contender and a talented young champion is yet to be truly tested. All this has led to the WRC losing a bit of its sparkle and its troubles with finding a promoter is testament to that.

It is a far cry from when Colin McRae took the sport’s popularity to the stratosphere and even in the days when Sebastien Loeb won nine straight titles, he was up against high-calibre competition from drivers of other marques.

Mikko Hirvonen was one such driver. And seeing him finish second in Wales Rally GB in his final WRC event brought back memories of one hell of a driver.

The more sober of the WRC’s two ‘Flying Finns’ – the other being Jari-Matti Latvala – Hirvonen was a runner-up in the championship standings four times from 2008 to 2012. And in 2009 and 2011 he ran Loeb and Citroen really close in the fight for the drivers’ title, with the former being a particularly hard fought campaign.

The Finn lost out to Loeb by just a single point in 2009 after he finished second to the Frenchman in the final rally of the year in Great Britain.

That title went right down to the wire with Loeb winning nine of the 16 special stages on that rally and Hirvonen piloting his Ford Focus to top the times in the other seven.

With Ford’s WRC presence being scaled back, Hirvonen struggled to match Loeb again even though he was rallying in Citroen colours in 2012. The following year Loeb ran only four rallies and development of the French team hit a wall as Volkswagen conquered all and Hirvonen was left out of sorts.

This year Hirvonen vowed to be the best ‘non-VW’ driver and his second place in Rally GB sealed the deal as Ogier’s own Volkswagen teammates crashed out early in the rally.

Ogier himself stayed as smooth, serene and fast as one has come to expect, especially with what passes as his competition is barely able to put together a consistent challenge.

Although to give the Frenchman credit that could just be down to his own prodigious talent. After all Loeb chose to run a shortened campaign in 2013 instead of going head-to-head with Ogier last year when the youngster found number one status at an opposing factory team.

His form in the wet and wild Welsh stages was definitely testament to his imperious form. Although it can also be said to have been an adequate showcase of what might have been with regards to Hirvonen.