Last updated 13:46, Friday, 08 February 2008

MIKKO Hirvonen began Ford’s bid for a hat-trick of manufacturers’ titles by taking second in the Rallye Monte Carlo.

Khalid Al Qassimi

Team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala finished 12th but outside the points after suffering various problems.

Both Latvala and third driver Khalid Al Qassimi - who came 16th - had to make use of the SupeRally re-start rule to make it to the end.

The rally was won by defending champion and Citroen C4 driver Sébastien Loeb, the French man clinching a record fifth Monte Carlo win.

For BP Ford Abu Dhabi’s Hirvonen it was his best performance on the rally, which this year was spread over four days.

The Finn, driving an M-Sport-prepared Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, of which there were five in the top 10 - has never claimed a podium position on this opening round of the FIA World Rally Championship in four previous starts. This time he held a top-three place from the very first kilometre.

The asphalt event comprised three days of competition in the Vercors and Ardèche mountains before a final day the Alpes-Maritimes, high above the rally's traditional home in Monaco.

The 19 speed tests covered 362.09km and while conditions were generally kind to competitors, patches of snow and ice lay in wait on exposed north facing slopes ready to trap the unwary.

Hirvonen said: “Second is a great result for me and a perfect start to the season.

“I've never had a good rally here so to take a podium is fantastic and it almost feels as good as a win. I started the season how I wanted to with a good result.”

Latvala lost time when he had to change a wheel on Thursday after clipping a wall and was forced to retire on Saturday afternoon after hitting a stone and breaking his car's front suspension.

He restarted on the final day in 14th and posted three top three times to climb to 12th.

Al Qassimi, making his Monte Carlo debut, retired on Friday after hitting a bank and breaking his car's suspension before recovering from 26th to 16th.

He said: "It was an incredibly difficult and technical rally but I compared my times to those of other drivers and was encouraged.”

Team director Malcolm Wilson was pleased with the team's start. He said: "There was a lot of pressure on Mikko but he filled the slot left by Marcus Grönholm and I'm impressed with the job he did. I couldn't have asked more in terms of the result.

“It was a steep learning curve for Jari-Matti but he has drawn experience from the weekend and will feel the benefit later in the season." he said.

The next round of the championship is the only all-snow rally, the Swedish Rally on February 7-10.