WRC – Hirvonen stands out after qualifying session in Mexico

It was a very dashing Mikko Hirvonen who set the best time in qualifying for the rally from Mexico. The Finn will therefore have the privilege of first choosing the position he wishes to start from during the next special stages. Due to the very penalizing sweep on the Mexican stages, the order of departures will be decisive. It's a safe bet that the best drivers will try to go as far away as possible, leaving it to the slower ones to clean up the lines.

Behind the driver of the Citroën DS3 WRC we find a group shot of Ford Fiestas from M-Sport Qatar WRT. Evgeny Novikov is second, a breath behind the Citroën driver, followed by more than two seconds by Mads Ostberg and Thierry Neuville. Sébastien Ogier, who was the fastest during the shakedown, had to settle for fifth place. His teammate, Jari-Matti Latvala, is even further behind, seventh. The Volkswagen drivers obviously paid for the choice of tires made by their team. Unlike Citroën and Ford, who chose soft rubber, VW made the bet of using hard components. It obviously didn't work.

Furthermore, the performance of Nasser Al-Attiyah should be noted. The Qatari, for his very first WRC of the year, set a convincing time of 4'01"6 even though he only drove the Fiesta WRC once during a practice session the Last week.

Results of the qualifying round:
1. Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën DS3 WRC) 3’57”2
2. Evgeny Novikov (Ford Fiesta WRC) 3’57”9
3. Mads Ostberg (Ford Fiesta WRC) 4’00”4
4. Thierry Neuville (Ford Fiesta WRC) 4’00”4
5. Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) 4’01”1
6. Daniel Sordo (Citröen DS3 WRC) 4’01”2
7. Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Polo R WRC) 4’01”5
8. Chris Atkinson (Citroën DS3 WRC) 4’01”6
9. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Ford Fiesta WRC) 4’01”6
10. Ken Block (Ford Fiesta WRC) 4’06”6
11. Benito Guerra (Citroën DS3 WRC) 4’09”4
12. Martin Prokop (Ford Fiesta WRC) 4’12”2
13. Michal Kosciuszko (Mini WRC) 4’14”2