Int. Rally Driver: Mikko Hirvonen
Mikko Hirvonen has been named as Rally Driver of the Year at the AUTOSPORT Awards in London
Autosport Awards
The Autosport Awards are a series of awards presented by motor racing magazine Autosport to drivers that have achieved significant milestones each season. Some of the presentations are selected by the general public via a reader's poll.
The Ford driver pushed Sebastien Loeb all the way in this year's battle for the World Rally Championship, eventually missing out by one point after heading the Frenchman going into the Rally GB season finale.
Hirvonen, who beat Loeb and IRC champion Kris Meeke to the accolade, was presented with his award by 1981 word champion Ari Vatanen.
"I'm sure you can imagine it was really frustrating losing the title by a point, and what went through my mind on the last stage of Rally GB were some very short words," he said.
"It was a great season though and losing it by so little makes me want the title even more next year."
After taking over the mantle of Ford team leader following Marcus Gronholm's retirement at the end of 2007, Hirvonen built on a solid 2008 season to up his game for 2009.
His mature performances over the season, coupled with the scintillating pace that he showed on occasions such as Rally Finland, proved that he has matured into a rival that Loeb will genuinely have to fear from now on.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Andy Priaulx set to leave DTM to switch to GT racing in 2014
Marc Marquez sets blistering pace in Valencia MotoGP test
Why the DTM doesn't need Britain anymore
WEC Imola: Ferrari remains on top in FP2 as Fuoco beats Porsche
WRC Croatia: Neuville, Evans tied for the lead after eight stages
WIN! A VIP Race Weekend Experience in Monaco
Lauda's 1976 German GP helmet to be auctioned at F1 Miami GP
How motorsport is embracing the opportunities of AI
The unlikely series providing an open door to innovation
Autosport writers' most memorable moments of 2023
How a lost Lotus that could have revolutionised Can-Am finally came to life
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments