by Rob Wilkins


1972 RAC winning co-driver, Tony Mason has said that he thinks BP Ford's Mikko Hirvonen will be able to 'raise his game' next year if he takes over as the team's number one.

Ford currently face a bit of a dilemma following Marcus Gronholm's decision to hang up his helmet and retire from the sport and while there is some speculation the Finn could still do selected events in 2008, Mason reckons Mikko is ready to take over and lead the M-Sport-run outfit.

"Mikko is a good driver and he has come on immensely well this year," the ex-Top Gear star told Crash.net Radio at the recent Castle Combe Rallyday.

"I think Marcus has helped him quite a lot. He has put in some good performances and if he got the position of being the number one driver he would probably raise his game a little bit.

"It is a difficult though and I have to say on the results and on the times this year, Gronholm and [Sebastien] Loeb have been a step above everybody else. But yes, I think he could carry the team."

Asked who might replace Gronholm, Mason said he didn't know really, although he would like to think Markko Martin is a possibility.

"My own view is that it is a pity Markko Martin retired and had the crash when Michael Park was sadly killed a couple of years ago. Markko more or less retired after that, but he hasn't fully retired," Mason continued.

"He is still interested in the sport and still doing things. I was with him at Goodwood and I think he would like to come back into motorsport. He was a very fast driver - and a future world champion. He is still not too old by a long way and I'd like to see him back in the team."

As for if Gronholm's decision to retire will spur him on, Mason added that it will definitely give him a bit of extra motivation to really push and beat Seb to the 2007 drivers' title.