MIXED FORTUNES FOR PIRELLI AND SUBARU IN FINLAND

Mikko Hirvonen's Pirelli-equipped Subaru Impreza WRC2004 has finished the first day of his native Rally Finland (round nine of the World Rally Championship) in fifth place, with only a short spectator superspecial of 2.06 kilometres remaining before the end of the leg. His reigning World Champion team mate Petter Solberg was unfortunately forced to retire on the fourth stage because of an accident which damaged his car's front suspension. Both Subaru-Pirelli drivers used Pirelli's new KP4 tyres today, which proved to be very competitive over Finland's demanding gravel stages. The performance of the rubber allowed Petter to keep on the pace of the frontrunners, despite not feeling well. Today's conditions were warm, with temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees centigrade. Although Solberg's retirement from a potential podium position comes as a huge disappointment, the Pirelli squad have been encouraged by Hirvonen's excellent performance today. Pirelli's rally manager, Fiorenzo Brivio, explains: "Today's tyre choices have been ideal for the surface conditions and temperatures we encountered. Mikko's aim is to put in his best performance yet on home territory, and we will be doing everything we can to help him achieve that goal." Mikko Hirvonen comments: "We started off quickly in the morning, but struggled a bit in the afternoon with set-up. But the car and tyres have been very reliable and it always feels special driving on your home rally. We look forward to showing everybody what we can do tomorrow!" Friday 6 August RALLY FINLAND - Classification after SS9 1 Gronholm-Rautiainen Peugeot 307 WRC 57m47.6s 2 Lindholm-Tuominen Peugeot 307 WRC +17.1 3 Tuohino-Aho Ford Focus WRC +29.5 4 Martin-Park Ford Focus WRC +30.7 5 Hirvonen-Lehtinen Subaru Impreza WRC +48.6 6 Paasonen-Vainikka Skoda Fabia WRC +51.7 7 Sainz-Moya Citroen Xsara WRC +52.9 8 Loeb-Elena Citroen Xsara WRC +1m01.5 9 Duval-Prevot Ford Focus WRC +1m01.9 10 Sohlberg-Lindstrom Mitsubishi Lancer WRC +1m27.2 LEG 2: Saturday 7 August, 8 special stages FINISH: Sunday 14.56 (22 stages in total)