HIRVONEN POISED TO LIFT CROWN
DETERMINED WRC Driver Mikko Hirvonen is finally poised to lift the crown today as the title battle rages in Wales.
A thrilling opening day of the FIA World Rally Championship decider ended with BP Ford Abu Dhabi drivers Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen lying second, just 5.3sec from the lead.
The Finns, in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, traded second place with drivers' title rival Sébastien Loeb after two days of competing in the muddy forests of mid-Wales.
With the title outcome hanging in the balance, just a single point separates 29-year-old Hirvonen and arch rival Loeb going into the 12th and final round of the season.
"It wasn't a perfect morning but it wasn't a disaster either," said Hirvonen speaking ahead of today's thrilling finale. "I was too cautious and made some small mistakes. I slid too wide in some corners and perhaps I was trying to drive too hard.
"I felt confident but I knew I needed to make my driving neater because I couldn't afford to drop any more seconds. My driving was much better this afternoon and if I can keep that level tomorrow then I will be happy.
"We're two Finns in a rally car that are fighting for our lives. The battle is on. I wanted to end the day in close contact with Loeb and I've achieved that. The weather forecast for tomorrow is bad and I think we're going to get rain, fog and high winds in the morning. If that's the case then I have to trust my pace notes and push hard. I'm not scared of making a mistake," he added.
BP Ford Abu Dhabi team director Malcolm Wilson said the pace at the top of the leaderboard was 'incredible'. "Mikko enjoyed a great day and it's amazing to see the top two drivers competing at that pace on the opening day. We made some ride height changes to Mikko's car at lunchtime and that helped him win two stages this afternoon." said Wilson.
Read next week's column to see me have a once in a lifetime co-drive with potential champion Hirvonen.
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BRITON Richard Plant has won a £50,000 scholarship prize towards a seat in the 2010 FIA Formula Two Championship after winning the 2009 Formula Palmer Audi Championship.
Plant emerged victorious after a frenetic weekend of racing, clinching the title in the very last race of the season, with Vasiliauskas and Foster finishing as his closest rivals.
The 19-year-old Briton was presented with the £50,000 scholarship prize by MotorSport Vision Chief Executive Jonathan Palmer, who also invited him to attend the final round of the 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship at Barcelona next weekend.
Speaking after his first outing in an F2 car he said: "The F2 car was a completely different animal to the FPA car. It was amazing - the power and grip was on another level and I loved every second of it. I just wanted the demonstration to run into a full test - I think I went even faster after the chequered flag came out. It was a fantastic experience to run the car in front of everyone from FPA and it is something I will never forget.
"My Dad and I have been invited to watch the final F2 round in Barcelona which will be mega and then I will hopefully be having my real F2 test in December. It is hard to take it all in but it was just such a great day for me and now I am fully focussed on racing in Formula Two next season."
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AS PREDICTED Will Bratt produced a true champion's drive at Monza last weekend Euroseries 3000 title and with it the potentially career-changing prize of a fully funded drive in the forthcoming GP2 Asia Series.
Delivering countless star performances throughout the course of the season, Bratt clinched the crown with another typically outstanding drive - carving his way from sixth on the grid to a superb second place.
Serving up an unbelievably tight championship climax, Bratt's result during the final race of the year enabled him to tie on points at the head of the driver standings with race winner Marco Bonanomi. Taking into account the number of victories secured by each driver during the year and then second place finishes in order to determine the champion.
"I can't believe it, it really hasn't sunk in yet", said the 21-year-old Briton. "It's been an amazing year, we've won four races, taken lots of podiums and to then seal the championship during the final round is fantastic. To win the GP2 prize drive on top of that really is the icing on the cake."
"GP2 is where any young driver needs to be to attract the full attention of the F1 teams and to have the chance to race in the Asia Series is one I'm going to grab with both hands, It's going to be very tough against so many experienced GP2 drivers but I thrive on challenges and can't wait for the Abu Dhabi test at the end of the week. This is the best moment of my career by far."
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