While Hirvonen will have to run first on the road in Jyvasklya as a result now, he isn't bothered and will be hoping to go one better than last year, when he finished second to his then team-mate and fellow countryman, Marcus Gronholm.
Speaking ahead of the ninth round, it was clear he will be after the maximum ten points, and that would be the perfect result, especially as he will celebrate his 28th birthday this Thursday, when the event gets underway with the first run through the short 2.06 km Killeri super special.
"I've stood beside these stages since I was a kid watching heroes like Markku Alen and Ari Vatanen driving. My family and friends will all be out watching and it would be a fantastic feeling to stand on the top step of the podium in front of them on the Sunday afternoon," said Hirvonen, ahead of his seventh participation on the '1000 Lakes'.
"But there are other drivers who are capable of preventing me from doing that. There is a little more pressure on me to win in Finland than on other rallies but it's nothing I can't cope with. I can't wait because it's the first time that I will start my home rally leading the championship."
Hirvonen's team-mate
Jari-Matti Latvala could be one of those threats and he is also just as eager for the action to get underway: "It would be special to win on home ground in Finland. Victory here is more highly regarded than in some other world rallies. It requires solid experience of the rally and I need to be able to drive flat out from start to finish without making mistakes. Anyone hoping to win needs to have completed the full rally - from start-to-finish - at least twice. I've done that and have started on three other occasions," added the 23-year-old.
Khalid Al Qassimi meanwhile will join Hirvonen and Latvala on the event in the 'third' car. Rally Finland will mark the first anniversary of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority's partnership with Ford and Khalid is eager to see how much he has progressed since finishing 16th in Finland twelve months ago.
Subaru WRT:
[
Petter Solberg, car #5 and
Chris Atkinson, car #6]
Solberg, Atkinson can't wait for Finland.
Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson are both looking forward to the Rally Finland this week, an event which will mark the start of the second half of the season.
![Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) / Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN), BP Ford Focus RS WRC 07. Rally Finland, August 2-5 2007 [PIC CREDIT: Ford/worldralypics.com]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/359017.jpg)
