Thursday, April 29, 2010

Hirvonen challenges Räikkönen to race in Helsinki

Mikko Hirvonen and other rally drivers will relax in August in a motor race held in Helsinki's Kalasatama.

There will be a real gathering of champions on the first weekend of August in Helsinki's Kalasatama. Of the WRC top drivers in addition to Ford's Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala also Petter and Henning Solberg and Sebastien Ogier have promised to participate, and so has MotoGP driver Mika Kallio.

Former world champions and other pentioners will be represented by Tommi Mäkinen, Markko Märtin, Juha Kankkunen, Timo Salonen and Markku Alen.

”We're supposed to be driving similar vehicles that were used in China in the race of champions, that is open rear-engine circuit cars, buggys and Legends cars”, Hirvonen, who is one of the organizers, tells STT.

The event, which takes place a week after the WRC rally in Jyväskylä, will climax on a final driven on Sunday. Sebastien Loeb, who leads the championship, is too busy to take part in the event but Kimi Räikkönen's participation is possible.

”An invitation has been sent but we still haven't got a reply”, says Hirvonen.

Hirvonen was in Helsinki on Wednesday to present the event and he will immediately head to New Zealand where the fifth WRC rally of the season will be driven in a week.

Hirvonen is third in the WRC series, 41 points behind the leader Loeb.

Source: Helsingin Sanomat
Courtesy: Dracena and Moominpappa

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