Successful debut for Mikko Hirvonen - third at Baja Aragon

Ex-WRC star Mikko Hirvonen had a successful debut in cross country rallying, finishing third in his first race – Baja Aragon, which is a part of the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup. He was contesting together with his French co-driver Michel Perin in the Mini All4 Racing for the German team X-raid and missed the second place by just 23 seconds, behind teammate Orlando Terranova. The winner of the race was Nani Roma in the same car for the same team, so X-raid remains undefeated in the Baja Aragon for the eighth consecutive year.

Not too far behind the winner, Hirvonen and Terranova entertained the crowds with a fierce battle for second position. Prior to the final special stage, the Finn held a lead of about a minute over his Argentinean team-mate. They both had to stop once for a tyre change. In the end, Terranova was slightly faster and secured second place, with Hirvonen finishing 23 seconds behind him in third.

“It goes without saying that I would have loved to come second but it’s great that we made it to the podium. It was tough for me, with the long special stages and without my pace notes. And I was really surprised that you have to push that hard,” said Hirvonen after the race.