Mikko Hirvonen won Rally Finnskog - Mikkelsen finished on 5th place

Mikko Hirvonen and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen win Saturday's Rally Finnskog in Svullrya, Norway, marking their very first victory in the Citroen DS3 WRC. The flying Finn ran the compact Finnskog event as a warm-up for the upcoming WRC Rally Sweden.

"So... we won Rally Finnskog today!
Feels good to win our first event in our new Citroen DS3. It was a test really and we've been able to do some fine tuning of the car before next week in Sweden. First run through the stages we had a small advantage running first on the road but the second time through it was more difficult. We had a really good feeling with the car and the roads in this area are very similar to those we're going to experience on Rally Sweden," said Hirvonen in his Facebook Official Fan Page.

Andreas Mikkelsen finishes a solid 5th on Rally Finnskog in his Skoda Fabia S2000. Warm ups over - next up Rally Sweden held on 9-12 february. Actually the first day of the Rally Sweden of this season will be race on Andreas home country Norway.

"Ended fifth in the Rally Finnskog, who has been a fantastic test before Rally Sweeden. A spin and a puncture ruined for an even better result. With minus 30 degrees, it has been a cold day for both Ola and me. PG Andersson was the best Super 2000 car in fourth place. He beat me by five seconds. Mikko Hirvonen won the Rally Finnskog ahead of Henning Solberg and Mads Ostberg third," commented Mikkelsen in his page on FB.

Overall Results:

1) Mikko Hirvonen 1.02.30,7
2) Henning Solberg. Mitsubishi Evo 6.5 +30.5
3) Mads Ostberg, Ford Fiesta WRC +49.8
4) PG Andersson, Proton +2:56.6
5) Andreas Mikkelsen, Skoda Fabia S2000 +3:01.7
6) Eyvind Brynildsen, Ford Fiesta WRC +3:02.5

The Best of Rally Finnskog 2012

Video filmed and edited by TorsteinEr90

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Result - KNA Rally Finnskog 2012 - SS 2 - SS3

SS2:

1	1	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen	Citroen	A	0	3:54.6	0:00.0
2	2	Mads Østberg	Jonas Andersson	Ford Fiesta WRC	A	0	3:57.8	0:03.2
3	53	Henning Solberg	Ilka Minor	Mitsubischi EVO 6,5	A	0	4:00.8	0:06.2
4	7	Andreas Mikkelsen	Ola Fløene	SKODA S2000	A	2	4:07.0	0:12.4
5	6	Per Gunnar (PG) Andersson	Emil Axelsson	PROTON	A	2	4:08.7	0:14.1
6	5	Craig Breen	Gareth Roberts	Ford	A	2	4:12.4	0:17.8
7	8	Marius Aasen	Veronica Engan	Ford Fiesta S2000	A	2	4:16.0	0:21.4
8	4	Eyvind Brynildsen	Cato Menkerud	Ford Fiesta WRC	A	0	4:17.6	0:23.0
9	40	Anders Grøndal	Trond Svendsen	Subaru Impreza STi	N	3	4:23.0	0:28.4
10	42	Petter Kristiansen	Ole Kristian Brennum	Skoda Fabia R2	A	5	4:36.7	0:42.1

Full result - KNA Rally Finnskog 2012 - SS 2

SS3:

1	1	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen	Citroen	A	0	12:50.9	0:00.0
2	53	Henning Solberg	Ilka Minor	Mitsubischi EVO 6,5	A	0	13:05.5	0:14.6
3	2	Mads Østberg	Jonas Andersson	Ford Fiesta WRC	A	0	13:17.1	0:26.2
4	4	Eyvind Brynildsen	Cato Menkerud	Ford Fiesta WRC	A	0	13:36.1	0:45.2
5	8	Marius Aasen	Veronica Engan	Ford Fiesta S2000	A	2	13:43.0	0:52.1
6	5	Craig Breen	Gareth Roberts	Ford	A	2	13:44.3	0:53.4
7	6	Per Gunnar (PG) Andersson	Emil Axelsson	PROTON	A	2	13:44.4	0:53.5
8	40	Anders Grøndal	Trond Svendsen	Subaru Impreza STi	N	3	13:53.8	1:02.9
9	7	Andreas Mikkelsen	Ola Fløene	SKODA S2000	A	2	13:57.3	1:06.4
10	42	Petter Kristiansen	Ole Kristian Brennum	Skoda Fabia R2	A	5	14:55.4	2:04.5

Full result - KNA Rally Finnskog 2012 - SS3

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Result - KNA Rally Finnskog 2012 - SS 1

1	1	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen	Citroen	A	0	7:34.5	0:00.0
2	53	Henning Solberg	Ilka Minor	Mitsubischi EVO 6,5	A	0	7:36.1	0:01.6
3	2	Mads Østberg	Jonas Andersson	Ford Fiesta WRC	A	0	7:36.4	0:01.9
4	7	Andreas Mikkelsen	Ola Fløene	SKODA S2000	A	2	7:50.9	0:16.4
5	4	Eyvind Brynildsen	Cato Menkerud	Ford Fiesta WRC	A	0	7:58.4	0:23.9
6	6	Per Gunnar (PG) Andersson	Emil Axelsson	PROTON	A	2	8:04.2	0:29.7
7	8	Marius Aasen	Veronica Engan	Ford Fiesta S2000	A	2	8:09.0	0:34.5
8	40	Anders Grøndal	Trond Svendsen	Subaru Impreza STi	N	3	8:09.2	0:34.7
9	5	Craig Breen	Gareth Roberts	Ford	A	2	8:13.1	0:38.6
10	19	Ole Morten Korsmo	Tore Hellerud	Volvo 240	NAS	10	8:55.9	1:21.4

Full result here - KNA Rally Finnskog 2012 - SS 1

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Stars flock to Finnskog

Rally Finnskog includes eight stages, four individual tests run twice, varying in length from 6.97 kilometres to 23.78 kilometres. The event will be Hirvonen’s first taste of the Citroen DS3 WRC on loose-surface competition. He will, however, have tested the car ahead of the event.

Joining the Finn in Norway will be Fiesta RS WRC drivers Mads Ostberg and Eyvind Brynildsen, both of whom drive under the Adapta team banner. Ostberg needs no introduction, having led and challenged Hirvonen all the way through last year’s Rally Sweden before finishing a close second.

Andreas Mikkelsen is likely to be among the pace-setters in the Super 2000 category on Saturday, driving a Skoda Fabia. The Norwegian will be chased hard by PROTON’s P-G Andersson, who gives the Satria-Neo S2000 its debut on a snow rally, while bagging valuable set-up data ahead of next week’s Rally Sweden. Craig Breen is another top Super 2000 competitor in his Ford Fiesta, while Anders Grondal will provide a Group N benchmark in his Subaru.

Saturday won’t be the last time Norwegian rally fans see the stars of the World Rally Championship as Rally Sweden spends much of its opening day across the border on stages centred on the town of Kongsvinger.

Source: WRC.com

"Testdrive today with EVEN Rally team mate Pontus Tidemand – good fun!," said Mikkelsen in his Official Website

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