Mikko Hirvonen - Ford Focus RS WRC'07 - World Rally Championship series

Mikko Hirvonen, rally driver

- Date of Birth: 31 July 1980
- Lives: Jyväskylä, Finland
- Marital status: Engaged to Karoliina
- Height & weight: 176cm & 65kg
- First rally: 1998
- First world rally: Rally Finland 2002
- World rallies started: 98 (end of season 2009)
- World rally wins: 11 (end of season 2009)

It would be fair to say rallying is in Mikko Hirvonen’s blood, as his earliest memory is sitting on his father's knee learning to drive a rally car on a frozen lake. The determined youngster decided the best way to learn to drive was in a front-wheel drive vehicle so, in 1998, he bought a two-litre Opel Kadett. With his cousin navigating, he finished his first rally, despite going off the road twice.

Over the next two years his rally activities became a family affair, with his cousin and sister sharing the co-driver's seat and other family members helping with the running of the car. After finishing seventh in the Finnish junior championship in 2000 in an Opel Astra, Hirvonen set his sights on the overall championship in 2001. He faced his first full year with the prospect of using pacenotes for the first time and enlisted Sirpa Jokinen as co-driver. Hirvonen's talent showed through and he led the championship until the last day of the last round when he hit a rock, relegating him to second.

He then set himself a 12-month development programme under the guidance of Timo Jouhki, with the aim of competing in the 2003 FIA World Rally Championship. Hirvonen competed in over 20 rallies in 2002 to gain the experience that would help him achieve this goal. Partnered by Miikka Anttila, he tackled the Finnish Championship and won the F2 category in a VW Golf Kit Car. The pair also competed in some Italian asphalt rallies in a Citroen Saxo Kit Car as Hirvonen was determined to gain experience on that surface. He also contested part of the Italian Subaru Trophy Championship with Jarmo Lehtinen and three rounds of the WRC.

His hard work paid off, and in 2003 he found himself at the wheel of a 2002 Focus RS contesting a full 14-round WRC programme. Sixth on the Cyprus Rally was his best result. In 2004 he joined the Subaru World Rally Team, gaining further valuable experience on all 16 events of the championship. His best results came on Rally Argentina and Rally Australia with fourth overall.

In 2005 he drove five events in a privately-entered Focus RS and one with the factory Skoda team. He excelled in the Focus RS, with three top six finishes, including a career-best third on Rally Catalunya. He joined the BP-Ford line-up for 2006, playing a crucial role in the team's manufacturers' world title success. After a string of podium finishes during the second half of the season, Hirvonen claimed his maiden WRC victory in Australia.

In 2007, Hirvonen added victories in Norway, Japan and Great Britain as he finished third in the drivers' championship and helped Ford claim its second consecutive manufacturers' title. In 2008 he mounted a sustained challenge for the drivers' title. Victories in Jordan, Turkey and Japan weren't quite enough, however, as he claimed the runners-up spot in the championship.

Last season was Hirvonen's best yet. Consecutive wins in Greece, Poland, Finland and Australia took him into the final round in Britain with a one point lead in the title battle. After an epic duel, he missed out on the title by just a single point to take the runners-up position for a second time.

Jarmo Lehtinen, co-driver

Date of Birth: 3rd January 1969
Lives: Lahti, Finland
Marital status: Married to Tanja
First rally: 1988
First world rally: 1997 Rally Finland
World rallies started: 102
World rally wins: 11

Jarmo Lehtinen cannot remember when rallying was not a feature in his life. His father took a young Jarmo and friend Jari Mikkola to rallies almost as soon as they were old enough to walk. They became addicted to the sport and spent every spare moment spectating and dreaming of the day when they would be old enough to compete. So it was no surprise when in 1988 Mikkola asked Lehtinen if he wanted to co-drive his first rally car - a Ford Escort.

Both were surprised to find themselves leading their first event as they went into the last stage before a roll dropped them to 10th overall, but they still won their class. They progressed to the Finnish Junior Championship in 1989 in their trusty Escort and moved to an Ascona for the 1990 season. In 1991 and 1992, the pair concentrated on the Group F Cup, which consisted of national rallies. Without financial backing, they ran the car on a tiny budget and obtained good results.

At the age of 24, Lehtinen was drafted into the Army for one year of compulsory training. Luckily he was posted to the car division with responsibility for logistics, which allowed him to develop the skills learned as a co-driver. After completing his training, an advertisement in his local newspaper caught his eye. It was seeking interest in a newly established Rally Coaching School for co-drivers. Lehtinen applied and was one of only six people chosen to participate. His reputation as a co-driver grew and he assisted a number of drivers for the remainder of that year and in 1996.

His partnership with Marko Ramanen in a Group N Honda Civic started a three-year affiliation that saw them take on the Finnish Championship in 1997. Despite leading their Group N class for most of the year, they finished second – beaten by just one second on the last stage of the last round.

The following year they finished fourth in their Group A class in the Finnish Championship and also tackled the Rally of Great Britain. Their WRC outing saw them lead the S1600 class on the first day before dropping to the bottom of their class with a broken driveshaft. The duo put up a great fight to climb to third, only to retire on the penultimate stage with gearbox problems.

In 1999 Lehtinen partnered Ramanen in the British Championship and accompanied Jouni Ampuja to sixth in Group N in the Finnish Championship. The partnership with Ampuja extended into the following two seasons and they finished second in Group N in the 2001 Finnish Championship.

Lehtinen began 2002 with Ampuja, again competing in the Finnish Championship, but he had also met Mikko Hirvonen who had set himself such a busy development programme that he needed two co-drivers. They joined forces for international events and Lehtinen also took up a new role in the gravel crew for Skoda driver Toni Gardemeister in the world championship. He worked on every event from the Safari Rally, gaining a valuable insight into the championship rallies.

Since 2003 Lehtinen has partnered Hirvonen on all his WRC outings – at Ford in 2003, at Subaru in 2004, as a privately-entered driver in 2005 and with Ford from 2006 to the current day.