Mikko Hirvonen wrecked his Ford Focus this morning in the opening stage of the morning. The Finn who had set himself for a better road position yesterday, ended up playing a version of rally car pinball.
The Ford driver who looked invincible in Sweden and Monte is clearly going to have his confidence rattled after this crash. Not only was the Ford way off the pace in Mexico, but now the hopes and dreams of the blue oval racers rests on a surprisingly good Jari-Matti Latvala. The clear number two driver has kept himself out of trouble all rally and is actually in a prime position to strike for victory…that is if Ford lets him.
Jari said he had no problem going flat out tomorrow for the win as he will start third on the road. Malcolm Wilson is still unsure though because of the points situation. Ford is pressing M-Sport hard for a manufacturers championship and while they do have the lead, Hirvonen will give them one point scorer tops and we all know all to well that Latvala has his moments when going all out. He is lucky to be starting where he is (third on road) though and it does give him a real chance. It would have been second, but a very costly mistake by Sebastian Ogier has opened the door for Latvala. Ogier who was second, looked to play some tactics and let Latvala go so he would be third on the road and a real threat to win the event. However a tactic call did not reach his C4 by text and Ogier pushed all out when a slow down move would have been optimal. Was this an accident or a move that will see Ogier probably not challenge for victory in fear of overtaking the factory number one? Regardless, day three in Jordan could be amazing in terms of competition.
