Ford boss rues missed opportunity
Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson says today's Rally New Zealand result - where Mikko Hirvonen finished third - was the most disappointing in his time in charge of the team
Going into the final, long stage of the Hamilton-based event, Wilson's drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala had been lying first and second. What would have been a dream result for both Hirvonen's drivers' championship aspirations, and Ford's hopes of a third straight win, turned to disaster in just 20 minutes on the second run of the Whaanga Coast stage.
Latvala crashed out and Hirvonen dropped a minute and two places with a right-rear puncture and a spin. To make matters worse, Stobart Ford driver Francois Duval crashed as well.
"I can't believe it," said Wilson. "I've never known anything like it. It's certainly my most disappointing time. I simply can't believe we've gone from a one-two and three Fords in the top five to this: third place."
Despite his disappointment, Wilson refused to blame his drivers.
"Despite what's happened, both Mikko and Jari have shown incredible speed on this event and I'm proud of them," he said. "Duval going off looks a bit silly, I don't know exactly what's happened, but that's rubbed a bit of salt in our wounds."
Hirvonen was equally upset at the result, saying: "The fact that I had Loeb beaten here just makes it worse. It's terrible.
"I knew when the tyre went flat with nine kilometers to go, that was it. I just couldn't believe it. Why does this have to happen? We weren't supposed to win this rally. Not this time."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
The outrageous mountain-climbers that became Pikes Peak legends
Ranking lost WRC legend Richard Burns' 10 best rallies
What to expect from the WRC's venture to the Arctic
Why do so many F1 stars live in Monaco?
Bagnaia used Jerez MotoGP practice “as a test” for “big” change
Newgarden “didn’t rehearse” emotional IndyCar press conference
Teams expect Sainz's F1 China qualifying incident to be cleared up
The eight minutes of madness that saw Ogier strike in Croatia
How Rovanpera showed his class above his WRC rivals in Kenya
How a new 'old' challenge is capturing the spirit of British rallying lore
How Lappi survived Swedish snow carnage to snap his lengthy WRC drought
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