 Hirvonen switched from Ford to Subaru in 2004 |
The BP-Ford team has announced that Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen will drive their new Focus RS car in the 2006 World Rally Championship. A three-year deal to join Timo Rautiainen and Marcus Gronholm begins with January's Monte Carlo Rally.
Both pairs will race in the new Focus RS, which made its first appearance at the Rally of Australia this month.
"The car's hugely promising and I can't wait to work again with my former colleagues," Hirvonen said.
The 25-year-old first raced for the Ford team in 2003, competing in all 14 rounds of the series.
He competed in six WRC events in 2005, driving a privately-entered 2003-specification Focus RS.
Despite his car being two years older than those of his rivals, Hirvonen finished a creditable third in the Rally Catalunya and fifth in the Acropolis Rally.
That earned him a call from Ford to take part in the Rally Finland, where he was fifth.
"I believe the combination of Marcus, Mikko and the all-new Ford Focus RS WRC will be an ideal package for us," director Jost Capito said.
"By signing drivers of that calibre we are making a clear statement of our intentions. We will use 2006 to further develop the new car in their hands, before a full-out bid for championship success in 2007 and 2008."
MMIX
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By signing drivers of that calibre we are making a clear statement of our intentions