March 13, 2007
BFGoodrich^® Tires Take the Top Spot at Rally Norway
GREENVILLE, S.C.

Mikko Hirvonen (Ford/BFGoodrich Tires) surprised the competition last weekend by winning the WRC's newest round, the Rally Norway. The youngster led from flag to flag, while fellow Finn Marcus Grönholm was powerless against his teammate's superiority but managed to secure a maximum point haul for BP-Ford as compared to a single point for rivals Citroën. The French team (Citroën/BFGoodrich Tires) had a bleak weekend with Sébastien Loeb (14th) and Dani Sordo (25th) both going off on day 2. Henning Solberg (Ford/BFGoodrich Tires) profited from the final day to steal third place from his brother Petter (Subaru/BFGoodrich Tires) and made it an all-Ford/BFGoodrich Tires podium.

Few drivers would have gambled on a victory for Hirvonen this weekend in Norway, and even fewer would have predicted the way in which he dominated his illustrious teammate. Although, Hirvonen had previously tasted victory in Australia last October, this was his first win in a straight fight against former World Champions Sébastien Loeb and Marcus Grönholm; his maiden success was scored with the Frenchman absent and after the Finn had gone off early in the event.

This weekend, however, on an event that was new to all the favorites, Hirvonen pulled off a genuine feat. For the first time in seven years, Grönholm was powerless on his favorite surface, snow. Also for the first time in ages, Loeb had trouble matching the pace of his Ford Focus WRC rivals, especially that of Hirvonen.

The Finnish youngster has taken his time in coming of age at the WRC level. His move to Subaru in 2004 was an uneasy moment in his career, and he was then given a fresh start in 2005 driving a privately entered Ford Focus WRC before being enlisted in the works Ford squad in 2006. Since then, he has come on slowly but surely and propelled his reputation to new heights last weekend.

Hirvonen took control on the long SS1 (30km); finishing 11.2 seconds clear of Grönholm and 17 sec., quicker than Loeb. He then consolidated his advantage on Friday afternoon by winning the second pass over the same test (SS3) to complete day 1 clear of his teammate and Loeb. "I woke up in great shape on Friday morning and decided to go for it. My choice of extra long stud g-Force Ice tires for the first two stages was ideal but I was a little surprised to find myself on top. The next day, I knew that everyone intended to attack over the 44km of SS9, so I did too. On the freshly-fallen snow, my long stud g-Force Ice tires did the job again, but the conditions were difficult and stayed that way all day." Hirvonen effectively founded his win on his performances over the weekend's snowiest stages, when grip levels were really at their lowest.

Powerless, Grönholm decided to settle for the silver medal and ensure a perfect Manufacturers' points crop for BP-Ford, while rivals Citroën left Norway with just one point after Loeb and Sordo both lost ground with offs on day 2.

Sunday's highlight was the thrilling scrap between Petter and Henning Solberg, as the Norwegians gave it all they had over their nation's icy lanes to claim bronze. Henning ended up getting the better over his brother Petter to make it an all-Ford podium. Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford/BFGoodrich) (5th), could well have finished inside the top-three had he not taken a time penalty early in the event following a steering problem.

Mikko Hirvonen (Ford/BFGoodrich)
"I made a very good tire choice early in the rally ('extra long stud'/8mm) and that enabled me to pull out a gap. I probably should have stayed with the extra long stud option on Friday afternoon, which was perhaps my only poor tire call of the weekend (he was on long stud). On Saturday, the snow was too deep for the studs to bite effectively into the ice whichever studs you chose. There just wasn't any grip. Although the stages were twistier than in Sweden, I think this rally was easier on the studs because of the snow covering and because there were fewer repeated stages."

Matthieu Bonardel, BFGoodrich Rally Manager
"After Citroën's domination on asphalt, Ford took revenge by winning both Scandinavian winter fixtures on ice and snow. How will it go on gravel? Mikko Hirvonen dominated in Norway and neither Grönholm nor Loeb was able to match him. The Norwegian stages, especially Saturday's, gave less grip because of the deeper snow covering. The drivers' comments were similar to those we heard after the early stages in Sweden. On Sunday's packed snow, the drivers found normal grip levels again with their studded tires. For Sweden and Norway, our partners used practically the full range of g-Force Ice tires, from the 'normal stud'/6.5mm and the 'long stud'/7mm to the 'extra long stud'/8mm we saw in Norway. Tire choice played a decisive role in Sweden but wasn't so critical this weekend. Given the compromise between performance and durability the drivers have to make when choosing stud lengths, it will be difficult to define a single tire type for these winter events in the future when there will be just one tire manufacturer. What stud length would you choose?"

Statistics: 18th Rally Norway, the first as a World Championship qualifying round 1,109.57km, including 355.99km in stages

Conditions: Ice and snow, a layer of fresh snow about 10cm deep on the Saturday, packed snow on Sunday

Tires used: g-Force Ice, three different stud options: 'normal stud'/6.5mm, 'long stud'/7mm, 'extra long stud'/8mm

Final positions:
1. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Ford Focus WRC06), 3h28min17s – 2. Grönholm-Rautiainen (Ford Focus WRC06), + 9s5 – 3. H. Solberg-Menkerud (Ford Focus WRC06), + 3min44s6 – 4. P. Solberg-Mills (Subaru Impreza WRC2006), + 4min01s1 – 5. Latvala-Anttila (Ford Focus WRC06), + 5min30s7 – 6. Galli-Bernacchini (Citroën Xsara WRC), + 7min05s2 – 7. Carlsson-Giraudet (Citroën Xsara WRC), + 9min23s7 – 8. Kopecky-Schovanek (Skoda Fabia WRC), + 11min49s. Etc.

Championship standings:
DRIVERS: 1, M. Grönholm (24 points). 2, M. Hirvonen (20). 3, S. Loeb (18). 4, H. Solberg (11). 5, P. Solberg & D. Sordo (8). 7, C. Atkinson & D. Carlsson (6). Etc.

MANUFACTURERS: 1, BP-Ford WRT (44 points). 2, Citroën-Total WRT (28). 3, Stobart M Sport Ford (16). 4, Subaru WRT (15). 4, OMV Kronos Citroën (14).

Next round: Rally Mexico (March 9-11)

BFGoodrich WRC tires: g-Force Gravel

Quota: 60 tires/priority driver, of which 33 may be used

Using motorsports as a proving ground for more than 30 years, BFGoodrich^® Tires is involved in every type of racing, including oval, sports car, drifting, drag, desert, dirt, rally (Dakar and WRC) and extreme rock-crawling. BFGoodrich Tires combines technological expertise with vast motorsports experience, delivering a high-performance tire for every type of vehicle. Visit BFGoodrich Tires online at www.bfgoodrichtires.com.