Hirvonen has been involved in rallying since 1998, but first demonstrated his abilities in 2002 behind the wheel of a mono-drive racing car, taking first place in the Finnish Formula 2. The same year in Italy, Mikko competed for the Subaru Cup and even took the lead in the series, but unfortunately lost the title in the last stage of the race.

After an unremarkable debut in Monte Carlo, Hirvonen spent the rest of the season flat, without much achievement. This precipitated his move to the Subaru team, with which he spent 2004, a year as quiet as the previous one. In 2005, the driver had to return to racing as a privateer, and by moving into his familiar 2003 Ford, Mikko was finally able to make a good impression, topping the standings at the Acropolis Rally. That performance put him back in the Ford factory team, and a third-place finish at the Spanish Rally guaranteed him a co-driver spot for 2006.

Facts

Hirvonen gave a lot of support to Markus Grönholm and together they were able to achieve a Ford victory in the constructors’ cup. At the same time Mikko got his first WRC win in Australia. In 2007 he had even better results, coming first in Norway, Japan and Great Britain, finishing in the top three ten times all season, as well as giving BP Ford its second team title.

At the end of the year, he finished third in the individual ranking, and in 2008, he replaced Markus Grönholm as the team’s main driver. Mikko Hirvonen is the first driver to achieve this status at such an early age. But he has rightfully taken the spot and had his most successful season to date.
Together with Jari-Matti Latvala, the team’s co-driver, Hirvonen scored three wins and was up against Sébastien Loeb himself until the penultimate stage of the competition.

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