Driving Sports

Mikko Hirvonen debuted the new Ford Fiesta Super 2000 rally car in the IRC Monte Carlo Rally and rallied the hot new hatch through the snow for the win.  Leading from the start, the Finnish rally star easily overcame the challenges of changing road conditions from the ice in the mountain passes to the dry coastal asphalt. The car was shod with Pirelli's latest winter tires, the Sottozero and P Zero.

Hirvonen completed the rally with an overall time of 4 hours, 32 minutes and 58.5 seconds, outpacing the Skoda Fabias of Juho Hanninen and Frenchman Nicolas Vouilloz, which respectively finished 1:51.4 and 3:19’.1 behind. Hirvonen was the 2009 WRC runner-up, behind Sebastien Loeb.

The Monte Carlo Rally (officially known as the Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) was a staple of the WRC through 2008, when it was dropped from the calendar. As one of the oldest rallies in the world, organizers were not about to let the event die, and signed on with the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC)